The Campus as a Living Lab ‘Grand Challenge’ called for visionary approaches to how British Columbia and Canada can effectively respond and adapt to the climate emergency.
This year’s competition, attracted faculty and staff from more than 22 academic departments and operational units across UBC Vancouver and Okanagan, resulting in three projects moving forward with a total of $600k in funding.
The details of the CERC project are::
Project: Bioenergy from commercial-municipal organic waste
GRAND CHALLENGE AWARD: $250K
This innovative project at UBC Vancouver explores the potential of utilizing aerobically treated organic waste from municipal green bin programs as a sustainable biomass source for UBC’s Bioenergy Research Demonstration Facility (BRDF).
The team will address the dual challenges of efficient waste management and sustainable energy production, demonstrating a practical solution to enhance UBC’s operational sustainability.
Priority area: Sustainable Innovations
Faculty lead: Naoko Ellis, Professor, Faculty of Applied Science, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering
Staff lead: Jason Rako, People and Process Manager, Energy and Water Services, UBC Facilities Group, Thermal Plant Chief Engineer
Co-lead: Sergio Berretta, Adjunct Professor, Faculty of Applied Science, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering
Co-lead: Xiaotao (Tony) Bi, Professor, Faculty of Applied Science, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering
Industry partner: Anaconda Systems Ltd.