Ontario’s Clean Tech Ecosystem Thrives

As a key contributor to the dominant concentration of clean technology companies in Ontario, Canada, Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC) is energising the development and demonstration of a clean technology ecosystem that international clean tech companies can and should take advantage of.

The 2014 Canadian Clean Technology Industry Report by Analytica Advisors states that 35% of clean tech companies in Canada are located in Ontario – 10% more than in any other Canadian province. 86 of 246 SDTC-funded projects to date are funded in Canada’s largest province, which is also home to theOntario Clean Technology Alliance ­– a collective of regional and municipal economic development organisations across Ontario – that is attending HANNOVER MESSE, the world’s leading trade fair for industrial technology including energy and environmental innovations.

“With over $600 million allocated over 246 technology projects across Canada, SDTC has successfully leveraged an additional $2.2 billion in funding from project partners including global clean technology companies,” said Jim Mairs, Senior Business Development Consultant/Assistant Manager for the City of Guelph’s Economic Development, Finance & Enterprise Services, an Ontario Clean Technology Alliance member. “Ontario has attracted more SDTC funding than any other province in Canada. Ontario’s clean technology sector also offers a world-leading, highly educated talent base, a low-risk business environment, and generous targeted tax credits to global clean energy, clean technology and environmental companies seeking growth.”

SDTC’s SD Tech Fund is currently accepting statements of interest until April 16, 2014. International clean tech companies can take advantage as consortium members through partnerships, limited partnerships or business trusts with incorporated Canadian companies. SDTC provides investment into the development and demonstration phases of clean technologies, helping prove the viability of the technology in a real-world setting. SDTC typically contributes about 33% of eligible project costs, typically ranging from several hundred thousand to several million dollars, with consortia members, including industry and end-use customers, active as well in financing and guiding the project to commercialisation. More information on the fund is available athttp://www.sdtc.ca.

Recent SDTC clean technology investments within the member cities and regions of the Ontario Clean Technology Alliance include:

SiREM Labs of Guelph, Ontario. SDTC funded demonstration of the first Canadian application of KB-1 for in situ biodegradation of chlorinated solvents in cold groundwater and fractured bedrock conditions to show that bioaugmentation with KB-1 can be a cost-effective cleanup strategy for PCE and TCE contaminated sites, particularly under Canadian climatic and fractured bedrock site conditions.

BIOX Canada Ltd. of Hamilton, Ontario. SDTC funded demonstration of a technology to convert agricultural seed oil, cooking oils/grease, animal tallows and fats into biodiesel at atmospheric pressure and near-ambient temperatures, resulting in considerably lower production costs, making biodiesel competitive with petroleum diesel.