13 Canadian cleantech firms make the Global Cleantech 100 list

Canadian clean technology companies are well-represented in this year’s Global Cleantech 100, an international ranking which includes 13 Canadian companies, seven of which are from the province of BC alone.

Reviewed by a panel of 86 venture capital and investment fund managers, the Cleantech 100 draws upon a nominated list of 12,300 for-profit companies not listed on any major stock exchange. The final group of 100 comes from 18 different countries and spans across six categories within the sustainability and green technology sector, including agriculture and food, energy, transportation, resources, chemicals and manufacturing.

Created by San Francisco-based Cleantech Group, the 2018 list shows that agriculture and food and transportation and logistics were the biggest movers this past year.

“Energy and power remains the most represented industrial segment in the 100, but the other two are represented more and more, year on year, and these two are undoubtedly showing the strongest change dynamics right now,” said Richard Youngman, CEO of Cleantech Group, in a press release.

Canada’s 13 finalists are a new record for the ranking, now in its ninth year. Lynn Côté, Cleantech Lead for Export Development Canada (EDC), says that clean technology needs to keep growing in Canada if we’re going to compete on the international stage in addressing the planet’s energy and environmental needs.

“There’s a worldwide effort underway to make the transition to a clean-growth economy,” says Côté to Cantech Letter. “This has created a massive demand for new technologies. The global cleantech market is estimated to be US $1 trillion and expected to surpass US $2.5 trillion by 2020.”

Global Cleantech 100 thirteen finalists from Canada are Awesense Wireless, ecobee, Enbala Power Networks, Farmers Edge, Semios, Terramera, Mine Sense Technologies, Axine Water Technologies, Carbon Cure, Enerkem, GaN Systems, Opus One Solutions, and Saltworks Technologies.

EDC, a government-owned credit agency, has seven of the 13 finalists as customers. “Often these companies are trying to disrupt markets or create new ones altogether,” says Côté. “Unfortunately, there are not a lot of options to secure financing in Canada because of the level of risk involved with emerging technologies. So, it’s critical that we support their efforts to scale up and become global competitors.”

Seven companies on the list are also from BC, including Awesense Inc., which provides real-time monitoring and loss reduction of energy grids. Awesense received this year’s GE Innovation Award for the Cleantech 100, given to the company that “best represents GE’s innovation themes in smart power.”

“The demand for solutions to tackle climate change for the future of clean economies is massive. Companies just need support to take full advantage of it,” said Mischa Steiner, CEO of Awesense, in an EDC press release.

The federal Liberal government has promoted clean tech as one of the key pillars of its innovation program. At a recent announcement of new funds for developing mining-related technology, Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development stated, “Our government’s investments in clean technology reflect our commitment to protecting the planet. But they also point to our clear and strategic direction for economic development through innovation. That’s because innovations in the clean tech sector can lead to products and services that will have an impact on all sectors of the economy.”

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