Canada is strong in academic research for clean tech, but in commercialization … not so much
December 13, 2016
By
CCE
A study by Cycle Capital Management and Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC), in collaboration with Écotech Québec has found that Canada lags behind the U.S. when it comes to commercializing clean technologies.
Entitled “Forging a Cleaner and More Innovative Economy in Canada,” the study found that while Canada is leading when it comes to research undertaken by academic institutions, Canada failed to compete in commercializing that research into market-ready technologies, as measured by the number of filed clean tech patents.
The clean technologies in the study included advanced building technologies, grid analytics and grid storage, intelligent transportation, solar PVs, unconventional natural gas and water treatment.
Directed by Gilles Duruflé, consultant in the venture capital sector, and Louis Carbonneau, an expert in intellectual property, the study shows that Canada has lagged behind the United States on a per capita basis in both venture capital and debt financing, both of which are critical components in helping companies innovate, scale up their operations and commercialize their technologies.
It is hoped that with areas of weakness identified, Canada’s industry, government and investment sectors will be better able to work together and take action to make the Canadian cleantech sector competitive on a global scale.
To read the study, click here.
