Startups are founded with the intention of bringing innovative ideas to market, often operating with limited funding on a small scale, requiring significant work on R&D while simultaneously aiming to secure investments. While the majority of startups ultimately fail, successful businesses operating through this model have the potential to scale rapidly and become prominent within their sector. Through this blog series, we will look at startups throughout Canada innovating in four emerging sectors: financial technology (fintech), medical technology (medtech), agricultural technology (agtech), and clean technology (cleantech).

The clean technology (cleantech) industry involves the development of products and process which reduce negative environmental impacts such as GHG emissions, pollutants, and waste through increased energy efficiency. This can include renewable energy, energy storage solutions, waste management, water purification, sustainable transportation and construction, and sustainable agriculture. The development and integration of such technologies presents significant opportunities to address climate change and overall contribute to a more sustainable economy.

Given Canada’s intentions to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 in accordance with the goals of the United Nations, cleantech has increasingly become a priority for many companies, and is a key focus of several funding programs promoting the development of new technologies, such as the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership and the Clean Economy Investment Tax Credits. In recent years, Canadian firms have made advancements in carbon capture and storage, electric vehicle designs, and solar and wind energy.

By supporting cleantech startups, Canada has the potential to address significant environmental challenges while positioning the country as a key part of achieving global sustainability. Added to this, the emergence of new businesses and technologies will encourage economic development in clean energy and technology, leading to increased investment and the creation of high-quality jobs across the country. We’ve compiled a list of cleantech startups that are recognized for working on innovations with the potential to benefit generations to come.

  1. Planetary Technologies, based in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, develops technology to enable carbon removal through ocean alkalinity enhancement. The company received $11.35 million in Series A funding in 2024 from investors including Amplify Capital.  
  2. Calgary’s EnviCore, founded in 2019, offers sustainable solutions to mining tailings treatment. EnviCore received $4.2 million in seed funding in late 2024 from investors including CSN Inova Ventures and Techstars.
  3. Coquitlam-based Moment Energyhas developed sustainable energy storage solutions from repurposed electric vehicle batteries. The company recently received a $28.1 million grant from the US Department of Energy to expand to the United States.
  4. Founded in 2020, Victoria’s Solaire Enterprises is currently developing innovative solar cells replacing silicon with perovskite to improve affordability and sustainability of soar photovoltaics with a higher energy conversion efficiency. The company has raised almost $3.5 million in pre-seed funding.
  5. Based in Toronto, Peak Power Inc. provides energy management solutions for real estate and industrial users to optimize battery energy storage, grid-interactive vehicles, and electric vehicles. Aiming to minimize costs, reduce emissions, and enable the sale of energy back to the grid, the company has expanded to the US with funding from BDC, NRC IRAP, FedDev, and more, including $20 million in Series A funding received in 2023.
  6. Eavor, based in Calgary, provides scalable carbon-neutral baseload power solutions for heating, cooling, and electrical, by overcoming the limitations of geothermal energy. The company has received funding from the Creative Destruction Lab and Natural Resources Canada, in addition to financing from organizations in Japan and Europe.
  7. Ekona Power works to produce clean hydrogen and power from methane derived from feedstock. Based in Vancouver, Natural Resources Canada provided funding in 2024 to develop their methane pyrolysis technology, following a grant from Alberta Innovates and $79 million in Series A funding in 2022.
  8. Ottawa’s BluWave-ai is a SaaS company using AI to optimize smart grids for renewable energy resources, electric transportation, and smart loads. With the goal of increasing affordability, reliability, and sustainability in energy and transportation systems, the company received $9.5 million in Series A funding in 2023.
  9. Based in Saskatoon, NULIFE GreenTech has developed a process of converting waste into sustainable bio-oil, enabling diversion of waste from landfills and corresponding GHG emissions reductions, and allowing for the sequestration of PFAS and other contaminants. The bio-oil produced through the hydrothermal liquefication process then undergoes a carbon removal process in underground geological storage. The company received $300,000 in funding in late 2024 to support the development of their technology.

Contact us to learn how your business, whether a startup or an established company, can benefit from clean technology programs, including the clean economy investment tax credits.