Canada has committed to achieving net zero emissions by 2050.

Certain provinces and cities have also separately pledged the same. To achieve this ambitious target, governments across Canada have initiated numerous steps to develop made-in-Canada clean technologies and accelerate the decarbonization of high-emitting sectors like heavy industry, transportation, buildings, electricity, agriculture, and waste. Rapidly decarbonizing these sectors, as well as incorporating cleantech into existing energy systems are crucial actions to achieving net zero.

Here is a look at some exciting work in Canadian cleantech that you may have missed in 2022:

1. Regionally

Toronto is taking active steps toward achieving net zero targets and advancing its green economy. Several sustainability-focused infrastructure projects are coming up, including the Villers Island project in the Waterfront Toronto region which will be Canada's first climate-positive community.

The project focuses on protecting the Port Lands from flooding while reducing GHG emissions beyond the community. This project will open up numerous cleantech opportunities in the Toronto region. 

2. Provincially 

Provinces like Saskatchewan and those in the Maritimes are demonstrating rapid growth in their cleantech sectors. These regions are building powerful cleantech ecosystems around their existing industrial strengths, creating promising potential for resource-focused industries like mining, oil and gas, agriculture, and forestry.

There’s no doubt cleantech has started to take off in these provinces, and Foresight is working to build on existing strengths to further accelerate growth and bolster cleantech innovation in these regions. 

3. Nationally

Canada continues to hold a position of global leadership within key cleantech sectors, and one amongst them is carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS). Canada is accelerating the launch and scale of CCUS technologies, executing projects, and providing expertise to other countries. 10 of the 15 Canadian CCUS projects currently in development have an estimated capital budget of over a billion dollars, its clear major opportunities lie in this sector.

Another example of Canada’s global leadership is in water technology, where Canada is furthering its position on the world stage with over 700 Canadian organizations associated with the sector. 

For the past 10 years, Foresight has relentlessly worked on countless cleantech projects alongside innovators, industry, investors, academia, and government to bring clean technology to life. We see a bright future for cleantech ventures to scale their technologies in Canada and enter into international markets. As we begin a new fiscal year, Foresight is excited to continue providing the foundational knowledge of cleantech in Canada to our partners to continue supporting the global transition to net zero.