The proposal to produce a refurbished snowmobile powered by a hydrogen fuel cell has earned a Whitehorse engineer first-place in the annual Yukon Innovation Prize competition.

Stefan Weissenberg has been awarded the $10,000 top prize to help advance his project.

Six other submissions were awarded $5,000 to assist with advancing their proposals, which include designing and manufacturing electrical rechargeable boats and developing an information resource for growing apples North of 60.

The theme for this year’s sixth annual Yukon Innovation Prize event was based on the United Nations’ sustainable development goals.

There were 27 submissions in total.

The winners were announced last week by a virtual awards video in light of the COVID-19 crisis. Each of the successful parties appeared briefly to share a few words about being selected.

In addition to the cash prizes to advance their projects, each of the parties will receive ongoing support from Yukon College’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship program.

The Yukon Innovation Prize was created in 2014 by the Government of Yukon’s Department of Economic Development and Yukon College’s Cold Climate Innovation (now I & E) to invigorate and support Yukon innovators, says a press release detailing the winning projects.

“The hydrogen cell snowmobile retrofit project is a fantastic example of a renewable energy innovation with clear Yukon applications,” Economic Development Minister Ranj Pillai said in the press release.

“Government of Yukon is proud to support this project through the Yukon Innovation Prize. Congratulations to Mr. Weissenberg and thank you to all the prize winners for being such great representatives of the Yukon entrepreneur community.”

Weissenberg said in an interview this week his idea for an electric snowmobile powered by a hydrogen fuel cell came about in two ways.

As a backcountry skier, he was interested in reducing the noise that comes with big gas-powered sleds. A friend of his also gave him an old 1993 or 1994 snowmachine without an engine.

With a background as an aeronautical engineer, the 29-year-old entrepreneur believed he could put an electric motor in the sled powered by hydrogen with no greenhouse gas emissions.

It would be much quieter, and would be able to perform as well as a lot of the utility snowmachines that hunters and trappers use, for example, he said.

Weissenberg said his goal is to have the prototype ready for testing next winter.

While the hydrogen snow machine won’t initially have the huge power of the big sleds that get high up into the mountain power, the technology exists to get there, he said.

Weissenberg said he doesn’t think it will be a problem buying old snow machines in the Yukon or getting donations of old sleds no longer in use, as many Yukoners have them sitting in their back yards.

Going forward, he said, he still needs to raise private investment to assist with the project.

Weissenberg said he expects he’ll need in the neighbourhood of $80,000 to $90,000 to finance. There is more financial assistance available through a different college fund that could cover up to half the cost, he said.

The rest, he added, he hopes to raise privately through a crowdfunding platform like Kickstarter whose goal is to help bring creative projects to life.

Weissenberg said the hydrogen fuel cell technology is well-established, is very reliable and is available commercially without a problem.

He acknowledges the price point is still a little high but as they get into production, he expects it will come down substantially and will be competitive.

The initial sales target will be companies or organizations that have fleets of snowmachines, like Parks Canada, he said.

Weissenberg said a couple of hunters have told him they would love to have a quieter machine while they’re out hunting.

In addition to the environmental benefits of zero emissions, the electric sled powered by hydrogen will have a very long life as the wear and tear on electric motors is minimal, he explained.

Weissenberg said hydrogen fuel cell technology performs well in cold climates, compared to electric snowmachines powered solely by regular batteries.

“In the future, we would have a much more powerful sled available for people who want to high-mark and do different things with it,” said the four-year-resident of Whitehorse who previously owned a business building drones for B.C. Search and Rescue.

The names of the other six winners and a description of their projects as presented by Yukon College are as follows:

• Klondike Valley Nursery of Dawson City – Kim Melton, John Lenart:

Translating agricultural research on growing apples in northern climates into an informative resource to help northerners have access to fresh fruit in their own backyards.

• Mosquito Jet Boats Ltd. of Whitehorse – Tracey and Peter Jacobs: Designing and manufacturing electric rechargeable boats to reduce emissions from boat engines and provide manufacturing jobs within Yukon.

• BioBoreal Labs of Dawson City – Elise McCormick and Joanne Sherrard: Development of Yukon-based manufacture of shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, and lotion for refillable bulk dispensers in hotels to eliminate use of tiny plastic bottles and reduce transporting personal care products long distances.

• Yukon Solar Corp. of Whitehorse – Kyle Marchuk: Building a portable, scalable, stand-alone power system using repurposed electric vehicle batteries. This system can be used in rural and remote communities to reduce reliance on diesel, while prolonging the useful life of resource-intensive batteries.

• DISCOVelo of Whitehorse – Scott Keesey and John Carson: Developing interactive digital media to teach the UN SDGs as part of the software that accompanies DISCOVelo’s bikes in classrooms for improved learning, physical fitness, mental health, and motional regulation.

• Whitehorse Tool Library Society of Whitehorse – Greg Stone, Sabrina Clarke, Ira Webb, Tyler Ross, Pat McCann, Sophia, Mortensen: The first tool lending library North of 60 will contribute to a sustainable, resilient community that uses its resources efficiently, builds a sense of community, and lowers barriers to access tools. Items like tools can be shared when otherwise not in use, rather than producing, buying, and disposing of more of each item.

“We were so impressed at the quality of applications this year, demonstrating once again the incredible creativity and innovation of Yukoners,” Lauren Manekin Beille, the manager of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship program, said in the press release.

“While we were really looking forward to celebrating the seven 2020 YIP winners at an awards ceremony, we are doing our part in practising social distance to flatten the curve. We hope you’ll help us spread the word by sharing our virtual awards video.”