The US Army will soon have a New Ventures BC competitor to thank for part of its fleet.

Vancouver’s Rapid Electric Vehicles has started production of four converted electric bi-directional charging Ancillary Power vehicles that will form part of the US Army Tank Automotive Research Development Engineering Centre Micro-Grid Project at Wheeler Air Base in Hawaii. These are light duty fleet vehicles that use power management, mobile communication technologies and proprietary propulsion developed by Rapid Electric Vehicles. They are each propelled by a 125kW permanent magnet AC motor and deliver 300lb-ft of torque.

An order has been made for three Rapid Electric Vehicles 300ACX and one Rapid Electric Vehicle 300AZX. The vehicles are based on the Ford Escape and the Ford F-150 platforms respectively.

Rapid Electric Vehicles was a Top 1o Finalist in 2009.

2009 Top 30 Competitor Bet Smart Media has released WiseStats.com to the public after spending a month in private beta. WiseStats is an application that provides sports statistics, pick tracking, real-time odds monitoring, and bankroll management tools.

According to Christiansen Capital Advisors, online sports betting is expected to generate revenues of $6.4 Billion in 2010. Victoria-based Bet Smart Media believes these revenues largely represent losses from the average bettor and that WiseStats will reduce losses by applying sound fundamentals to picking strategy.

“Having access to the right statistics and timely information is key to developing an actual edge when making sports picks or bets”, says Bet Smart Media President & Co-founder, Jesse Learmonth. “Sportsbooks and professional handicappers have access to mountains of data that help them win far more than the average bettor. We wanted to create WiseStats.com to give everybody access to the same statistics in an insightful, easy-to-use format to help people reduce the number of losing picks they make.”

Whether users are making picks for fun or putting money on them, WiseStats.com allows them to conduct pregame statistical analysis, view real-time odds across 15 of the top odds markets, and track their picks to create reports and gain insights against a series of standard performance metrics.

WiseStats.com is currently focused on NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL and NCAA Menʼs Football and Basketball. During this public beta period, accounts are free and allow users to track unlimited picks across these leagues.

2009 Top 10 Finalist Rapid Electric Vehicles (REV) announced last week that they have partnered with Vancouver’s Viridian Power to deploy electric vehicles and charging stations in every major Canadian city by 2012.

REV, which refits gas-powered vehicles with electric drivetrains, and electrical contractor, Viridian Power, announced Tuesday that their new partnership will enable the electrification of vehicle fleets across Canada. Viridian will install and maintain California-based Coulomb Technologies Inc.’s chargepoints on behalf of reseller REV.

REV also announced it is in negotiations with municipalities, cities, utilities and commercial companies to launch pilot projects in almost every major city across Canada.

According to REV and Viridian, 1.1% of global vehicle sales are expected to be electric by 2015, with electric vehicle sales rising to more than $400 billion by 2030.

GROW 2010 is a technology conference that will bring together leading entrepreneurs, thinkers, influencers and investors from Silicon Valley and Canada to inspire innovation and entrepreneurship.

Day one of the three day conference is called ENGAGE and it’s an invite-only program that will bring together promising Canadian entrepreneurs with leading silicon valley founders, influencers, and investors to meet, discuss, and glean information for innovating in a web-fueled world.

Startups from across the country have applied and event organizers have shared a portion of that final list. On that list are a number of BC-based companies and even a few NVBC graduates:

• Adhack – 2008 Round 3 Company
• AirG – 2001 Winner
• Appsocial - 2010 Round 3 Company
• FundRazr – 2009 Round 2 Company
• Mobify – 2009 Top 10 Finalist
  

Day one is invite-only, so if you’re interested in attending be sure to apply now before it is full.

San Francisco-based Joyent has acquired Layerboom, making it SFU Venture Connection’s first spin-off company. Layerboom was also a 2009 New Ventures BC Competitor and made it to Round 2.

Layerboom helps companies build and sell virtual private server ‘clouds’. Cloud computing refers to the new ability to shift physical technology infrastructure to a remote Internet hosting service, eliminating the need for companies or individuals to manage complex computing hardware and software in-house.

An active participant in the SFU Venture Connection program, Howie Wu teamed up with Vancouver technical guru Trevor Orsztynowicz to form the business.

Throughout Layerboom’s growth, SFU Venture Connection has provided Wu with support and guidance via its first mentor-in-residence Jim Derbyshire. Wu has also received advice and coaching from Danny Shapiro, dean of SFU Business.

“They’ve both been influential in helping guide the growth and positioning of Layerboom,” says Wu. “Jim brought the practical experience of managing and selling high tech companies and was the key supporter of the strategy change that led to the venture’s success.

“Danny brought a strategic view and sounding board that helped shape the venture.”

Janice OBriain, SFU Venture Connection’s manager, says: “It’s great to see our first participant exit the program after less than two years of operation.”

Launched in the fall of 2008, Venture Connection offers training and support programs for SFU’s entrepreneurs, linking student, faculty and local entrepreneurs with experienced advisors, funding opportunities, and other business connections.

2009 Top 10 New Ventures BC Finalist MOBIFY announced today that they have brought three applications to market to help companies tap into the mobile Web with the help of Vancouver’s Wavefront.

Mobify now counts some of the biggest retail brands, online publishers and advertising networks among its customers. Wired Magazine chose Mobify Studio to power its official mobile version. Kiwi Collection, a luxury hotel search engine, is using Mobify Enterprise to enable secure booking on any kind of mobile device. The most recent addition to Mobify’s lineup is Mobify Ads – a rich mobile advertising platform bringing engaging ad campaigns to iPhone, Android and Symbian platforms.

Mobify took advantage of Wavefront’s commercialization space from September 2009 to May 2010 where they refined and focused the company’s business model, accelerated its product development, and added personnel. After eight months, Mobify’s new products had achieved strong and fast market traction, growing its network to millions of mobile page views per month in 207 countries.

Yesterday eighteen clean technology projects from across Canada shared in $40 million of funding from Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC) and two New Ventures BC Competitors received funds – 2010 Round 3 company Quadrogen Power Systems Inc. and 2009 2nd Prize Winner Etalim.

“Our government continues to invest in projects that reflect our balanced approach to reducing emissions,” said the Honourable Jim Prentice, Minister of the Environment.  “These projects will create high-quality jobs for Canadians now, and provide us with a healthier environment and sustainable prosperity in the future.”

“SDTC and the Government of Canada are providing industry the tools they need to become more productive, competitive and efficient,” said SDTC Chairman Juergen Puetter. “When these companies bring their technologies to businesses and consumers, they create jobs, provide Canada a technological edge and contribute to improving the quality of Canada’s air, water and soil”.

Vancouver-based Quadrogen is demonstrating a heat, hydrogen and power system based on gas from dairy farm manure. Burnaby-based Etalim has developed a small-scale thermal-electric generator that converts heat to electricity.

Congrats to both companies!

2009 Top 10 Finalist Rapid Electric Vehicles (REV) delivered its first all-electric light duty SUV for use in a North American commercial fleet yesterday. Burlington Hydro Inc. (BHI) is first to own the REV 300 ACX, a retrofit Ford Escape producing zero tailpipe emissions and complete with smart grid and wireless telemetry capabilities. The ACX features a 160-kilometre range, a 144-kph top speed, with no compromise to performance or safety.

“The REV 300 ACX is not a hybrid nor is it a concept vehicle – it is a fully electric vehicle that will be indaily use in the Burlington Hydro and GridSmartCityTM fleet,” said Jay Giraud, REV’s CEO and president. “This is a first for Canada, made possible by Burlington Hydro’s leadership and REV’s vehicle architecture designed by our electric vehicle veterans who have more than 30 years experience developing proprietary drive systems and electric energy storage technologies.”

The SUV is the focal point of BHI’s Pure Electric Vehicle Demonstration Project, also the first of its kind. The one-year study will be conducted by the University of Waterloo, with funding from Transport Canada.  It is designed to increase understanding of the operating characteristics of an all-electric fleet vehicle in practical, working applications.  Characteristics to be monitored include recharging patterns and requirements; optimizing the usage and recharging cycle in a real life setting; overall vehicle performance; drive-cycle; battery state-of-health and electricity grid impacts.

Etalim expecting investment infusion in 2010

2009 second-prize winner, Etalim Inc., is expecting to realize up to $8 million from its first round of financing, which is expected to close this summer.

Etalim’s novel solar-power technology can inexpensively convert the sun’s heat, or any fuel, into emission-free electricity.  Serial entrepreneur and CEO Ron Klopfer says an Etalim power plant can capture the sunlight falling on an area of land the size of a football field to power 500 homes without creating any CO2 emissions.

The company plans to complete a demonstration unit by June and expects to go to market in 2012.

Etalim has five employees and expects to hire an additional 15-20 engineers this year.

Highlights over the past year:

• Employee Growth: static but expects to hire 15-20 engineers in 2010
• Investment: an expected $8 million by summer 2010
• Market value: expects to double in value once the demo unit is complete

Innovative Building-Product Company Gets Green Light, Goes to Market

G.R. Green Building Products of Burnaby, B.C. won the $20,000 British Columbia Innovation Council Economic Impact award in the 2009 competition.

The company has since raised a further $200,000, passed all independent tests for Canadian certification of its roofing products and received patent approval for its innovative process to manufacture “green” roofing and siding materials made from limestone and recycled plastic bottles and bags.

GR Green, which has five employees, is poised to enter the Canadian market this spring and then expand into the remainder of North America and selected major industrialized countries worldwide.