VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwire) -- 02/27/11 -- Canada took another major step towards greening its economy today with an investment of $52 million to support the commercialization of clean technologies. The announcement, confirming the decision of the Board of Directors of Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC), was made today by Mark Warawa, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of the Environment and Member of Parliament for Langley, and SDTC's Senior Vice President, Operations, Maria Aubrey.
"Our Government is committed to supporting clean energy technology in Canada as an effective measure to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and create high-quality jobs for Canadians," said MP Warawa. "These projects announced today demonstrate our leadership in driving technology innovation to help create a viable clean energy industry in Canada."
"Investing in these new innovative technologies will have a direct impact on Canada's productivity," said SDTC Chair Juergen Puetter. "Supporting them will create jobs and diversify local economies while strengthening Canada's position as a global cleantech leader."
The 16 innovative clean technologies involve many of Canada's main economic sectors. Some highlights of this round include:
-- Technologies that will increase the reliability of electricity
distribution and help the power grid adjust to new intermittent sources
of supply and the increasing use of new technologies connected to the
grid such as electric vehicles
-- Technologies that will increase the efficiency and reduce the costs of
biofuel production from forestry and agricultural waste that will also
create valuable co-products from the process
-- Technologies that could be used by the industrial transportation sector
to become more efficient and environmentally friendly
These new investments bring SDTC's total portfolio value to $1.8B. SDTC's SD Tech Fund™ has completed seventeen funding rounds, committing $515 million to 210 clean technology projects. These figures include adjustments made to the portfolio.
"SDTC-supported companies have had great success in the marketplace, showing four times Combined Annual Growth Rate versus other cleantech companies," said Vicky Sharpe, SDTC President and CEO. "We look forward to helping commercialize these innovative technologies and bring them to market."
The newly funded projects are representative of the investment priorities established in the SD Business Cases™, a series of six reports published by SDTC and which provide strategic insights into specific economic sectors (available in the Knowledge Centre section of the SDTC website at www.sdtc.ca ).
About SDTC
SDTC is an arm's-length foundation created by the Government of Canada which has received $1.05 billion as part of the Government's commitment to create a healthy environment and a high quality of life for all Canadians.
SDTC operates two funds aimed at the development and demonstration of innovative technological solutions. The $550 million SD Tech Fund™ supports projects that address climate change, air quality, clean water, and clean soil. The $500 million NextGen Biofuels Fund™ supports the establishment of first-of-kind large demonstration-scale facilities for the production of next-generation renewable fuels.
SDTC operates as a not-for-profit corporation and has been working with the public and private sector including industry, academia, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), the financial community and all levels of government to achieve this mandate.
Detailed information on the 16 projects, including their descriptions, can be found on the at www.sdtc.ca.
Round 17 funded projects
1. Lead organization: Ballard Power Systems, Vancouver, British Columbia
Economic Sector: Power Generation
2. Lead organization: CORVUS Energy Ltd. (CEL), Richmond, British Columbia
Economic Sector: Transportation
3. Lead organization: CRB Innovations Inc., Westbury, Quebec
Economic Sector: Energy Exploration and Production
4. Lead organization: eCamion Inc., Toronto, Ontario
Economic Sector: Power Generation
5. Lead organization: Echologics Engineering Inc., Toronto, Ontario
Economic Sector: Energy Utilization
6. Lead organization: Fabgroups Technologies Inc., Saint-Laurent, Quebec
Economic Sector: Waste Management
7. Lead organization: FibraCast Inc., Ancaster, Ontario
Economic Sector: Energy Utilization
8. Lead organization: Mining Technologies International Inc., Sudbury,
Ontario
Economic Sector: Energy Utilization
9. Lead organization: NIMTech Incorporated, Toronto, Ontario
Economic Sector: Energy Utilization
10. Lead organization: S2G Biochemicals Inc., Vancouver, British Columbia
Economic Sector: Energy Utilization
11. Lead organization: Silinov Technologies, Quebec, Quebec
Economic Sector: Waste Management
12. Lead organization: SWITCH Materials, Vancouver, British Columbia
Economic Sector: Energy Utilization
13. Lead organization: Temporal Power Ltd., Burlington, Ontario
Economic Sector: Power Generation
14. Lead organization: Tyne Engineering, Oakville, Ontario
Economic Sector: Waste Management
15. Lead organization: Westport Power Inc., Vancouver, British Columbia
Economic Sector: Transportation
16. Lead organization: Woodland Biofuels Inc., Sarnia, Ontario
Economic Sector: Forestry, Wood Products and Pulp & Paper Products
Contacts:
Patrice Breton
Director, Communications
SDTC
613-234-6313 x295
media@sdtc.ca
Richard Walker
Director of Communications
Office of the Minister
Natural Resources Canada
Ottawa
613-996-2007
