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Clean Tech

Improving environmental impact for a sustainable future

The roots of innovations made in the development of leading Canadian technologies (think fibre optic and wireless networks, computer sciences, and natural resources exploration) remain firmly planted in Canada, providing the foundation for the advancements taking place across Canada’s Cleantech sector.

Canada is a big country. Our impact on the environment doesn’t have to be. Collaboration between government, universities, and industries fuels Canada’s 4th place ranking on the Global Cleantech Innovation Index, where it has a firm hold in the Global Cleantech 100 list for work being done to reduce carbon, diminish waste, mitigate use of materials, and to significantly scale back energy consumption. Clean technologies developed today ensures a tomorrow for all of us.

Clean Tech in Canada

$13.3B

Annual Revenue

850

Companies

55,000

Clean Tech Jobs

$1.5B

Annual Research & Development

Centres of excellence

Canada's key Clean Tech centres

Explore our Clean Tech centres of excellence

Sub-sector spotlight

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Smart Cities & Smart Grid Applications

  • Hot spots: Vancouver Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa
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Green Energy and Energy Efficiency

  • $1.5 Billion in R&D (2015)
  • Hot spots: Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa, Montréal
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Water and Waste Water Management Technologies

  • Hot spots: Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa, Montréal
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"Vancouver is one of the best places in the world for a clean tech business to thrive. Vancouver is attracting global attention for its greenest city vision, aggressive building policies and highly supportive business environment, including global game-changers involved in everything from fusion energy to carbon sequestration."

John McPherson, Sector Development Manager, Cleantech, Vancouver Economic Commission

Home-grown tech companies

Toronto Hydro

Toronto Hydro is testing the world’s first underwater compressed-air energy storage project. The system, developed by Hydrostor, converts electrical energy into compressed air, which is then stored in a series of flexible wall air accumulators below the surface of Lake Ontario until required by the grid.

Axine

Axine Water Technologies of Vancouver has developed a low-cost, energy-efficient and chemical-free solution for treating high concentrations of complex, toxic organics and ammonia in industrial wastewater. A wide range of water-intensive industries, such as chemical manufacturing and oil and gas, employ this breakthrough.

Ballard

In 2017, Ballard Power Systems became the first fuel cell company to power buses for more than 10 million cumulative kilometres of revenue service. Fuel cells generate onboard power to recharge batteries, thus improving electric bus performance.

Nexterra

Nexterra Systems Corp. has developed the world̓s most commercialized energy-from-waste gasification technology, enabling communities to convert non-recyclable organic waste into clean, renewable heat and power.

Accelware

Calgary-based Acceleware’s simple and inexpensive RF heating technology solution provides oil sands producers with energy efficiencies and significant environmental and cost benefits when compared to Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage.

Dark Vision

DarkVision Technologies’ high-resolution ultrasound-based well imaging technology is helping oil and gas producers reduce operating costs, increase production, improve well integrity and minimize environmental impacts.

GHGSat

In 2016, GHGSat launched the world’s first high-resolution satellite capable of measuring greenhouse gas emissions coming from any industrial facility in the world. The technology lets owners monitor their facilities with a common technology, in near-real-time.

Enerkem

Enerkem offers a sustainable solution for waste management and energy diversification through the manufacture of biofuels and renewable chemical products from non-recyclable waste.

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