British Columbia continues to be a hotspot for innovation in the clean technology field.
The province is anchored by the Vancouver area, which KPMG regards as a world-class cleantech cluster.
There are hundreds of cleantech firms across the region. And we’ll mention dozens in this article alone as we highlight some of the year’s top headlines related to Canada’s clean technology ecosystem.
Federal Funding for Companies Getting Creative with Carbon
Carbon management technologies and alternative clean fuel sources play an important role in the decarbonization and competitiveness of Canada’s economy, the federal government believes, and says it is working to strengthen the country’s advantages in these areas.
Canada announced $12 million in investments targeting clean technology projects in British Columbia, including $5M for Squamish-based Carbon Engineering under the Energy Innovation Program to support the development of alternative energy solutions for powering direct air capture systems which pull carbon dioxide from the air.
Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, revealed funding for the following B.C. organizations accelerating local cleantech:
- $2.5 million to British Columbia Biocarbon
- $1.8 million to Arca Climate Technologies
- $1.5 million to the University of British Columbia
- $980,500 to Parkland Refining (BC)
- $710,000 to Highbury Energy
“The Government of Canada is committed to working with British Columbia and other provinces and territories to help achieve Canada’s climate objectives,” stated Wilkinson in November.
BC Cleantech Awards Shine Spotlight on Ecosystem Contributors
Foresight Canada’s fifth annual BC Cleantech Awards recognized many local entities.
Startup of the Year was Arca, while the title of Scaling Venture of the Year went to Intelligent City. Peter Bradshaw was named Community Advocate of the Year while the Corporate Pioneer of 2024 was BC Hydro.
Ecosystem Supporter of the Year was awarded to Creative Destruction Lab and BC Centre for Innovation & Clean Energy earned Funder of the Year. Sarah Applebaum of Pangaea Ventures scored Investor of the Year while UBC’s MEL CEEN Program was recognized as Training Institution of the Year.
Speaking of the University of British Columbia, Vikramaditya Yadav was named Educator of the Year. Kym Thrift of the Innovative Clean Energy Fund is Government Champion of the Year.
Deloitte Says These Vancouver Cleantechs are Growing Quickly
Deloitte Canada unveiled the winners of its Clean Technology awards in November as part of the annual Technology Fast 50 program.
With a three-year growth of 6,610% Oxygen8 took the first spot of Deloitte’s Clean Technology category. The Vancouver-based company develops smart ventilation solutions that provide fresh, filtered outside air to building occupants with minimal carbon emissions, creating comfortable, healthy, and energy-efficient indoor environments.
In addition to Oxygen8, CarboNet, MineSense Technologies, and Burnaby’s Envo Drive Systems also made the list.
Global Recognition from the Cleantech 100
Thirteen Canadian companies were named to the prestigious 2024 Global Cleantech 100 list, the 15th edition.
The Global Cleantech 100 list combines Cleantech Group’s research data with qualitative judgements from nominations and insight from an 85-member Expert Panel of investors and executives from corporations and industrials active in technology and innovation scouting.
Within Canada, the West Coast stood out with seven companies calling B.C. home, including Ionomr Innovations, Mangrove Lithium, MineSense Technologies, Moment Energy, Pani Energy, pH7 Technologies, and Svante.
Canada’s Most Investable Cleantechs (Are Mostly from B.C.)
The Foresight 50 list recognizes Canada’s most investible cleantech ventures.
Of the 50, an incredible 25 hailed from BC, with an impressive nine of those returning from last year’s list.
- 4AG Robotics, Salmon Arm
- 7Gen, Vancouver
- Anodyne Chemistries, Burnaby
- Arca, Vancouver
- Build Smartr Robotics, Surrey
- Cascadia Seaweed, Sidney
- ChopValue, Vancouver
- Daanaa, Vancouver
- Ekona Power, Burnaby
- Envo Drive Systems, Burnaby
- Lite-1, Vancouver
- Lucent BioSciences, West Vancouver
- Maia Farms, Vancouver
- Mangrove Lithium, Vancouver
- Orca Water, Burnaby
- pH7 Technologies, Vancouver
- Rockburst Technologies, Vancouver
- Rotoliptic Technologies, Squamish
- Solaires, Langford
- Tersa Earth, Burnaby
- Veritree, Vancouver
- VoltSafe, Vancouver
- VulcanX, Vancouver
- WaterStrider Treatment, Vancouver
- Wild Coast Biologics, Langley
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