econext is encouraging businesses in Newfoundland and Labrador with an interest in pursuing collaborative research and development projects with German partners to get in touch.
A near-term opportunity to obtain funding for joint innovation is available through the “Canada-Germany 2024 to 2025 collaborative industrial research and development call for proposals”.
Working together, the Government of Canada and the Government of Germany aim to foster and support collaborative industrial research and development (R&D) projects with high potential for commercialization. This call for proposals is open to companies from Canada and Germany who wish to perform joint R&D leading to technology commercialization focused on developing innovative products, processes, or technology-based services in all technological and application areas which have strong market potential.
econext is looking to assist interested NL companies explore this program. In addition, econext is anticipating other opportunities for collaboration between NL and Germany and is keen to hear from businesses in NL with an interest. Please contact econext CEO Kieran Hanley with your interest at kieran@econext.ca.
Do you have an innovative idea that you would like to explore that combines reality capture and/or digitization with the wind / hydrogen industry?
Get in touch with CNA’s Reality Capture and Digitization Technology Access Centre (TAC), which can provide:
Expertise to determine the technical and economic feasibility of new products, processes, and services
Short-term R&D and prototype development assistance
Access to cutting-edge technology
Impartial scientific, technical, and business guidance
Don’t miss out on the upcoming funding opportunity for Interactive Visits with the TAC network! For just $250, you can access 20 hours of innovation support!
Reach out to our Applied Research team (ar@cna.nl.ca) for assistance with the application process and to explore solutions tailored to your business needs.
econext is congratulating Braya Renewable Fuels on a significant milestone achieved this month – first commercial production of its renewable diesel product.
“This is a major milestone for Newfoundland and Labrador which is positioning itself to be a global energy transition and clean fuels leader,” said Kieran Hanley, CEO of econext.
Braya Renewable Fuels operates the Come By Chance Refinery which has been retrofitted to produce renewable diesel – a product that can directly displace traditional diesel with much lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This fuel will support the energy transition by decarbonizing hard-to-abate sectors such as heavy-duty transport, aviation, and heavy industry.
Image courtesy of Braya Renewable Fuels
Hanley said econext expects the milestone to be one among many in the years ahead. “There are several projects being explored within the province that would be internationally significant in terms of their contribution in the fight against climate change,” he said, referring to a series of wind-to-hydrogen projects that are in various stages of development.
“These types of projects not only allow for Newfoundland and Labrador to make an important contribution to the world’s pursuit of net zero GHGs, but also create good jobs, business opportunities, and community investment here at home.” Hanley said it is notable that many of the proposed projects are located in rural areas of the province and present great opportunity for rural revitalization in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Hanley said that the province has a number of competitive advantages from untapped renewable resources, geography and port infrastructure, available land and water, and more which position it for success in a world that is quickly moving to address GHGs.
“Braya’s project is the first to achieve commercial production in Newfoundland and Labrador; we congratulate those with the vision to develop and invest in this project.”
econext is an association that accelerates clean growth in Newfoundland and Labrador and works on behalf of over 200 members to foster environmentally sustainable economic development. More information can be found at https://econext.ca.
econext has launched Newfoundland and Labrador’s green jobs bank.
“We are very excited to bring this service to employers and job-seekers in the province,” said Kieran Hanley, econext‘s CEO.
Hanley said that a number of factors led to econext deciding to create the job bank. “We are seeing unprecedented growth in Newfoundland and Labrador’s green economy – a trend that we expect to continue and intensify for some time to come,” he noted. “Employers are going to need help finding talent, and we feel we can play an important role in that regard.”
The second driver for the initiative was a growing interest in green jobs by students and job-seekers. “We are finding that more and more people in the province are becoming interested in working in fields that have positive environmental impacts,” said Hanley, “and they are gravitating towards econext to help them find their way.” Through its workforce development initiatives, econext is cultivating a strong network of professionals and job-seekers.
Hanley said that these two factors position econext well to match-make between employers and green job-seekers. “We view this as being an important service for our members and the industry at-large.”
The Green Jobs Bank can be accessed here, while employers can add their available jobs here.
econext is an association that accelerates clean growth in Newfoundland and Labrador and works on behalf of over 200 members to foster environmentally sustainable economic development. More information can be found at https://econext.ca.
econext wants to work with businesses in Newfoundland and Labrador to help them address their waste management challenges.
“Sometimes there is value to be found in the things that we are sending right to the landfill,” said Kieran Hanley, econext‘s CEO. “When a business is able to do something else with its waste streams – a number of positive things can happen.”
“From the commercial perspective, a business can cut costs, create new opportunities for local entrepeneurs, or even generate new revenue streams,” said Hanley, noting that addressing environmental impacts is good for business in a world where consumers are increasingly becoming concerned with them.
“In the bigger picture, waste diverted from landfills is good for the environment and good for the taxpayer because the life of landfills can be extended,” said Hanley.
Hanley said that econext is interested in helping businesses in the province explore their options. “It doesn’t hurt to see what might be possible; our team is standing by to help you explore the options.”
Interested businesses can get in touch with econext about their waste here.
econext is an association that accelerates clean growth in Newfoundland and Labrador and works on behalf of over 200 members to foster environmentally sustainable economic development. More information can be found at https://econext.ca.
On behalf of econext, I would like to wish our members and partners a Happy New Year.
Our team is already off to the races on what is sure to be a big year for the green economy in Newfoundland and Labrador. I’d like to highlight a few of the things that we will be up to in Q1 of this year.
On the policy front we will busy putting our best foot forward in providing ideas for the provincial government’s development of new climate change action plans, and responding to the federal government’s planned emissions cap for the oil and gas industry (which, among other things, we believe has the potential to create new carbon offsets opportunities for our province). We are also in the beginning stages of exploring innovative approaches to regulatory frameworks to help enable efficient processes that are also highly effective in protecting the environment.
We have two ideathons in the works for the Winter across the province, and will be helping SMEs to understand why they should be thinking about ESG and how they can get started developing strategies through a new course that we have developed. We have two exciting webinars within the next two weeks – one on the 11th about Newfoundland and Labrador’s clean technology tax credit, and another on the 16th highlighting clean technologies coming from Iceland.
We are on the heels of facilitating a series of technology demonstrations of our members’ capabilities at The Launch, and will as a result have some exciting footage to share with the world about the cleantech expertise that Newfoundland and Labrador has as it relates to the ocean. Related to all of that, we are helping students explore careers in the green and blue economies and facilitating internships and co-op placements… contact us if you’re interested in hosting!
Meanwhile we are doing some exciting work related to skills and training for the clean energy industry, and finishing our work developing net zero pathways for our offshore oil and gas industry.
This is just the tip of iceberg of what we expect will be a banner year for econext; we have an incredible team in place which I know is going to have a very tangible impact on accelerating clean growth in Newfoundland and Labrador in 2024.
These folks are going to be busy and through 2023 we planted many seeds that we expect to sprout in the months ahead. Stay tuned.
Indeed, Newfoundland and Labrador’s clean growth future really began to take shape in 2023. Even since my last note in July, there has been a long list of developments that will help shape activity in the province 2024 and long after. From the release of critical minerals plans provincially and programming nationally, to the advancement of wind-to-hydrogen projects through the province’s crown lands process and the introduction federally of draft legislation for clean hydrogen tax credits, to the launch of a new provincial CCUS Innovation Challenge, to new bilateral energy agreements with other provinces and the federal government… Newfoundland and Labrador is not just well positioned to be a green leader – the train has left the station.
And this is just a sample of some of the developments this past Fall. The speed at which these things is happening can be difficult to keep track of – not to mention to understand how they may create opportunities for your business! econext is here to help. Are you a member and would like to meet with our team to help you explore or identify opportunities? Please get in touch. Whether you want to explore international markets, identify better uses for your waste streams, understand how you should be adapting to climate change, or see how you can become more productive and innovative – we’ve got someone on the team here who can help.
Lastly, but no less important, this year econext is committed to doing a better job of highlighting the successes of our members – either from a business or environmental perspective. So when you’ve accomplished something that you want to share, please send along your good news to us and we will do our part.
Throughout 2023, econext – in partnership with Memorial University’s Harris Centre and CLIMAtlantic – organized a series of regional climate workshops throughout Newfoundland and Labrador.
“Climate change is impacting communities across Newfoundland and Labrador, but depending on where you live and how your area has evolved, we all see it affecting us in different ways,” said Kieran Hanley, econext’s CEO. “These regional climate workshops are helping us to gain a better understanding of what is most important in specific areas of the province, which in turn will help us to do our work to advance adaptation efforts and grow Newfoundland and Labrador’s green economy.”
Workshops took place in Grand Falls-Windsor, Port Rexton, Trinity, Port aux Basques, Codroy Valley, and Pasadena between April and November 2023.
NL Climate Services Specialist Sepehr Khosravi – Courtesy of The Gazette
“We have only scratched the surface in terms of our province’s geography,” recognized Hanley. “We are keen to explore opportunities to host workshops in other areas in 2024 and would be happy to explore ideas with any region or community that expresses interest.”
“econext regularly engages with municipalities and communities across the province to define climate change challenges and opportunities, helping in the pursuit of funding to address them,” said Hanley. The regional climate workshops will allow econext to identify specific initiatives that can be pursued on a regional basis and communicate them to other stakeholders who can help.
“We are grateful for our partnership with The Harris Centre and CLIMAtlantic for this initiative.”
econext approached the Harris Centre to organize, host and facilitate the workshops due to their long standing connections with communities and regions across the province. At each workshop CLIMAtlantic offered practical resources ranging from risk assessment to possible climate change adaptation options.
econext is an association of businesses that accelerate clean growth in Newfoundland and Labrador and work on behalf of over 200 members to foster environmentally sustainable economic development. More information can be found at https://econext.ca.
Through 2023 econext has released a series of webinars available via its Online & On-Demand platform focused on ocean-based clean technologies.
In the series, three markets with strengths related to clean ocean technologies are explored – Germany, Ireland, and the UK – with a focus on existing clusters and networks, key organizations, and research groups that are leading innovation in the blue/green economies.
Content is available for free in multiple formats; users can choose whether they wish to learn vie video, audio, and/or text.
SMEs in Atlantic Canada wishing to learn more about potential partners identified are encouraged to contacteconext staff who can work on your behalf to facilitate an introduction.
The Department of Environment and Climate Change is seeking input on the development for its new Climate Change Action Plans. Details can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.nl.ca/releases/2023/ecc/1101n03/
econext will provide detailed input from its membership. If you have ideas on how Newfoundland and Labrador can tackle Climate Adaption and/or Climate Change Mitigation that you would like to share with us, please feel free to send your comments directly to Sara Jafari, (sara@econext.ca).
Deadlines
The deadline to have your feedback into econext is December 7, 2023. Additionally, we encourage you to also fill out the provincial government questionnaire. The deadline to provide direct provincial deadline is December 13, 2023.
On behalf of econext, I would like to wish our members and partners a Happy New Year.
