Carbontech holds promise as a breakout sector for Canada

Technology that turns waste carbon into valuable products and services holds significant promise for Canadian cleantech and energy innovators, through an initiative supported by the Trade Commissioner Service (TCS) in New York.

Carbontech, also known as carbon‑to‑value (C2V), is an emerging industrial sector. It provides a market value for carbon, creating an economic incentive to capture and convert carbon dioxide (CO₂) into usable products. This approach is better than releasing CO₂ into the atmosphere.

“Carbontech could be a breakout sector for Canada,” says Ian Philp, who is head of energy and environment for the TCS in New York. He says that by scaling up its nascent carbontech industry, Canada can address several “existential problems”. These include how to drive growth during this challenging time, how to focus on the carbon‑intensity of our domestic fossil‑fuel industries and how to deal with climate change.

Carbontech represents a lucrative economic opportunity. It has an estimated market value of US$1.07 trillion per year in the U.S. and US$6 trillion per year globally and is expected to reduce CO₂ emissions by 7 gigatonnes annually. This will benefit sectors as diverse as fuels, cement production, industrial gases and plastics, as well as niche applications like cosmetics, food and beverages.

Canada is playing a leadership role in the C2V industry

Canada, through its Consulate General in New York, has taken a leadership role in the Carbon to Value Initiative, a new program catalyzed by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA). The program is designed to rapidly commercialize and deploy innovations by carbontech start‑ups. Philp says the program is a collaboration between major corporations, government, industry experts and non‑governmental organizations. Carbon to Value Initiative’s goal is to build the ecosystem of activities and partnerships that small carbontech innovators need to thrive.

Canada is a founding member of the program’s Carbontech Leadership Council. This is a high‑level group of corporate, academic and government leaders designed to foster commercialization opportunities for C2V technology.

The key is to cost‑effectively scale and expedite the development of solutions, says Philp. He notes that start‑ups often lack experience working with large corporations to pitch and adapt their technologies to fit into industrial supply chains. Meanwhile, large corporations are always seeking to understand what innovators are doing and how that could drive efficiency in their production processes, he says. “Participation in the C2V Initiative can help to bridge these gaps.”

The Canadian Technology Accelerator is helping Canadian innovators breakthrough

There are a number of Canadian innovators getting a foothold in the sector in markets like the U.S.

Molly Rafelson, trade commissioner at the Canadian Technology Accelerator (CTA) in New York, is helping start‑ups in fields, including cleantech.

One example is CarbonCure Technologies Inc., of Dartmouth, NS, a global leader in carbon capture and utilization (CCU) technologies for concrete. Its technologies enable concrete producers to inject CO₂ captured by industrial gas companies into ready‑mix concrete. This makes it stronger and allows concrete producers to reduce the cement content in their mixes, while maintaining the concrete’s strength. “It’s a great example of a win in this new space,” Rafelson points out.

CarbonCure president Jennifer Wagner says that Canada is establishing itself as a leader in the field of innovative carbon technologies on the world stage.

“This is largely due to the government investment in the research and development of clean technologies such as CCU technologies,” says Wagner, noting that being ahead of the curve brings tremendous opportunity. “Canada’s contribution to the ongoing development of the world’s carbontech solutions means that Canada will play a significant role in achieving the emissions reductions necessary to meet climate targets and help fight climate change.”

Philp explains that the TCS is a conduit between start‑ups, innovation hubs and other research programs in Canada and corporations looking for carbon‑mitigation solutions. “It’s very exciting, and it’s very much in line with Government of Canada priorities,” he says. “This is such a big opportunity, and carbontech is another tool in our arsenal to fight climate change.”

Canada is already making a name for itself in the C2V field, Philp points out. Four of 10 finalists for the Carbon XPRIZE are Canadian companies. The challenge competition is designed to find the best technologies that remove carbon from the atmosphere and turn it into useful products. He notes that half of the finalists are doing their technology deployment at the Alberta Carbon Conversion Test Centre (ACCTC), a specially designed facility in Calgary to test and advance carbon conversion technologies.

Rafelson adds that the C2V Initiative will seek applications from carbon‑focused start‑ups in the coming months and act as an accelerator. This will help technology developers connect with large corporations that have the resources and market access to validate their offerings.

A six‑month accelerator program focused on carbontech will follow in early 2021. Rafelson explains that the technology is critical given the challenges that the COVID‑19 pandemic poses to businesses and the industry.

“As we move out of COVID‑19, this is a forward‑looking strategy that a lot of investors are looking into more closely,” she adds. “There is space to grow.”