By Barnabe Geis, Senior Director of Market Transformation
A few weeks ago, Foresight Canada and Social Innovation Canada opened recruitment for Earth Tech: 2050 (the deadline to apply is July 30), an impact accelerator for top Canadian climate tech companies with the potential to each reduce half a gigatonne of CO2e by 2050.
To keep global heating to no more than 1.5°C – as called for in the Paris Agreement – emissions need to be slashed 45% by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050 (and possibly net-negative emissions in the later half of the century if temperatures need to be brought down).
The path to 45% by 2030 is relatively clear, and most of the solutions are already available (we’re just not implementing them at the scale needed). The road to net zero by 2050, on the other hand, is less clear, with breakthroughs required in the development, adoption and scale up of solutions to get us there – think green steel and clean cement, chemicals, aviation and shipping, long-haul transportation, carbon dioxide removal, and the like.
Earth Tech: 2050 seeks to accelerate these technological and business model advancements, while also ensuring they do not create any new, unintended harms (e.g. toxin and waste minimization). We must invest in these solutions now for them to be operating at significant scale over the next couple decades.
Most accelerators work with a cohort of companies at a similar stage of development over a short period of time to help them refine their business models and raise capital. As Earth Tech: 2050 is laser focused on impact, our cohorts will be made up of companies at different stages and working across sectors on technologies that are complex and take time to develop and scale. This calls for a longer, customized approach.
A team of advisors and experts will do several deep dives with each venture to identify mission-critical objectives, and we will provide ventures with comprehensive support and connections to achieve them.
Ventures can expect matchmaking and networking with investors and industry, peer-to-peer support, access to a large pool of advisors and experts, pilot and partnership opportunities, and just-in-time training (training companies need, but only when they actually need it).
At the end of the nine-month program, each venture will be able to look back on their journey and see a custom accelerator co-designed with them and with the input of respected advisors to hit essential milestones.
Apply Now
If you are working on a breakthrough technology with gigatonne-scale potential (at TRL 4 or above), have already been through an accelerator, and if you’re looking for top-tier advisors and experts, investor and industry connections, and training individualized to your actual needs, this may be the program for you.
Recruitment for Earth Tech: 2050 is happening now and the deadline to apply is July 30! Learn more and apply now.
Earth Tech: 2050 would not be possible without the support of the RBC Foundation, the Peter Gilgan Foundation, and Bullfrog Power.
