Moment Energy Powers Up YVR Fleet with Innovative Battery Energy Storage System

Moment Energy, a British Columbia (B.C.)-based innovator, celebrates a significant milestone as it embarks on a groundbreaking project set to revolutionize energy consumption at the Vancouver International Airport (YVR). Through B.C.’s Integrated Marketplace (IM), Moment Energy’s Flora Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) promises to deliver reliable, high-speed charging capacity for both public and fleet vehicles.

Moment Energy’s BESS project with YVR underscores the potential of homegrown B.C. technologies to drive positive change and shape a sustainable future. Beyond accelerating the adoption of clean technology solutions, the Integrated Marketplace program, and projects operating as part of it, seek to create jobs, foster economic growth and solidify B.C.’s position as a global leader in innovation.

Partnerships Building Solutions

Moment Energy and YVR are working together to deploy Moment Energy’s Flora Battery Energy Storage System, made from repurposed electric vehicle (EV) batteries. This project will yield a fast charger designed to charge two EVs at once, serving as a pilot to demonstrate the BESS’s capacity to enhance EV-charging infrastructure.

The Energy Management System (EMS) plays a vital role in regulating BESS charging and discharging. It optimizes BESS use to ease grid load during peak hours, showcasing its potential to support expanded EV-charging infrastructure. The YVR IM testbed is vital as a platform to confirm the effectiveness and reliability of Moment Energy’s Flora BESS system in an airport setting and will help the company with their commercialization process.

“The Integrated Marketplace will enable Moment Energy to showcase the reliability of our Flora BESS in supporting an international airport’s EV fleet and in modernizing the electricity grid, propelling us toward a net-zero future. This will accelerate our momentum and establish a positive track record, strengthening our client base and unlocking opportunities to demonstrate how our system can drastically reduce utility costs for businesses and support a shift towards clean, dependable energy solutions.”

– Gurmesh Sidhu, co-founder and chief product officer, Moment Energy

As the first announced IM testbed, YVR is focused on reducing operational greenhouse gas emissions to support its 2030 net-zero commitment through actions like electrifying support vehicles on the airfield and associated businesses.

“We’re thrilled to see practical solutions emerging from YVR’s Integrated Marketplace, thanks to innovations from within B.C.’s tech sector. The flexible EV charging capacity from Moment Energy not only allows us to test different ways to charge our fleet, it also represents tangible progress toward our net-zero goals.”

– Tamara Vrooman, President and CEO, Vancouver International Airport

The $800,000 project, supported by $386,500 in funding from the IM, underscores the Government of B.C.’s commitment to investing in innovative solutions that address real-world challenges while promoting environmental stewardship, creating jobs and bolstering Canada’s position as a global leader in innovation.

Empowering Innovation Through the Integrated Marketplace

The Integrated Marketplace, launched at YVR in December of 2022, links strategic buyers with B.C.-based solution suppliers to implement, scale up and ultimately export B.C. innovation solutions. It is part of B.C.’ s Industrial Blueprint that lays out the Province’s work to drive new investment, create new jobs and seize new opportunities in growing clean energy and sustainable industries.

“As part of our Industrial Blueprint we are taking action to drive new investment, create new jobs and seize new opportunities in our provinces growing clean energy and sustainable industries through programs like the Integrated Marketplace. These partnerships are helping B.C. companies test new technologies that offer solutions to real world problems.”

– Brenda Bailey, Minister of Jobs, Economic Development and Innovation

B.C. is home to many of the most innovative technology companies in the world. By connecting them with large-scale B.C. organizations looking for sustainable solutions, these companies can test their new products and services in live operational environments and grow their markets at home and abroad.

Developed by the Government of British Columbia as part of the StrongerBC Economic Plan and supported by PacifiCan, the IM program is delivered through B.C. Crown corporation Innovate BC in cooperation with partnering testbeds.

An IM testbed can be industry sites, such as an airport, seaport or mine, or a conceptual space such as a health network, a series of farms or a digital platform, that are seeking solutions to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, improve their competitiveness and operational efficiency or health and safety measures. To date, three testbeds have been announced: YVR, the Prince Rupert Port Authority and the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority.

This project is part of the Government of B.C.’s investment of up to $11.5 million and the Government of Canada’s investment, through PacifiCan, of up to $9.9 million in the IM. Insights from these testbed pilots will inform future expansion of the IM over its three-year funding period.

Creating a Sustainable Future Together

The Integrated Marketplace program empowers companies within approved testbed sites to identify, select and develop projects with B.C. innovation suppliers. These companies, along with the testbeds, are keen on understanding how new products or services perform in real-world scenarios and using that data to inform further technology adoption and enhance productivity.

Innovate BC supports this process by assisting testbed organizations in finding the best solutions, providing input, facilitating engagement with solution providers and providing ongoing support. Overall, the IM aims to accelerate and de-risk the adoption of domestic innovations, aid in decarbonization, enhance competitiveness, and bolster health and safety measures in key areas of the provincial economy.

“The Integrated Marketplace is designed to give B.C. innovation a home field advantage. We have a wealth of companies here creating solutions that have incredible potential for impact, and by connecting them with major players across critical industries with identified innovation goals, they have a platform to test, iterate and embed their solutions that will serve both ends of the technology adoption process while also assisting the province in reaching its targets in sustainability, safety and competitiveness.”

– Nathan Nankivell, VP, Integrated Marketplace and Government Relations, Innovate BC

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