2022 Cleantech Industry Survey Results

2022 Cleantech Industry Survey Results [PDF - 2.0 MB]

The 2022 Cleantech Industry Survey was completed by Natural Resources Canada to better understand the challenges and barriers that Canadian cleantech companies are facing. This was a targeted survey sent out to 2427 pure-play cleantech companies that were identified through the Clean Technology Data Strategy. The online survey was conducted between September 20, 2022, to November 14, 2022, and used a combination of emails, newsletters, phone calls and social media to obtain a response rate that was >25% for each province and cleantech industry within the taxonomy. A total of 640 unique survey responses were received, generating an overall 26.4% response rate.

Pure-play cleantech companies are defined as companies that are predominantly engaged in developing and/or using innovative technologies that provide environmental benefits.

For more information on the Clean Technology Data Strategy and the Government of Canada's cleantech taxonomy, please visit us at Clean Technology Data Strategy.

Acknowledgements

The 2022 Cleantech Industry Survey was developed with support from: Ontario Clean Technology Industry Association, Ecotech Quebec, Foresight Canada, ECO Canada, Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, Clean Growth Hub, Export Development Canada, Statistics Canada, Employment and Social Development Canada, Environment and Climate Change Canada.

Methodology

As some cleantech companies have several products at different stages of development, it can be difficult to understand the context of the challenges they are facing. For this survey, respondents were asked to self-identified their stage of development for their core cleantech product or service. Based on their selection, the respondent received 11-13 survey questions tailored to their selected stage of development. The categories were:

Research and Development (R&D) - Any early-stage activities undertaken to design new products/ services or improve existing offerings before market entry (TRL 1-5)
Demonstration and Testing (D&T) - The evaluation of firm technology to reach operational requirements (TRL 6-8)
Commercializing and Scale Up (C&S) - The product has moved from laboratory to market for purchase (TRL 9+)
Export (EXP) - The firm has moved (at least some of) its product sales to international markets
Service Providers (SP) - The firm does not produce or manufacture goods but is an enabler of the cleantech sector (e.g. suppliers, installers of existing cleantech)

Executive summary – key findings

Greatest overall challenge

36% of cleantech firms reported that raising capital is their greatest overall challenge. It is widely acknowledged that access to capital is one of the more significant issues in the Canadian cleantech sector. Canadian private investors are scarce, and firms are dependent on patient capital, often from public sources, to innovate and de-risk technology.^{Footnote 1},^{Footnote 2}

Target markets

Surveyed firms primarily sell to utilities (38%), followed by manufacturing (35%). Net-zero electricity is an objective outlined in the Government of Canada's 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan. Cleantech firms and utilities continue to play a key role in expanding renewable and non-emitting energy across Canada, which reduces emissions from other sectors, such as industry, buildings, and transportation.^{Footnote 3}

Challenges with hiring

56% of cleantech firms reported rising salaries and wage costs as the greatest barrier to hiring and retaining employees. The CTDS Industry survey was conducted in the Fall of 2022, at an inflationary peak not seen since the 1980s (6.9% in October 2022), which saw a historically low unemployment rate (5.2% in October 2022) and record setting wage increases (+5.6% YoY since October 2021) across Canada.^{Footnote 4},^{Footnote 5}

Most sought-after skills

69% of cleantech firms reported looking to hire from applied & technical sciences (e.g. engineers, product designers, chemists). It is estimated that applied sciences and related occupations will make up ~25% of environmental job openings to 2029.^{Footnote 6} The Government of Canada has a suite of initiatives to support the growing demand to fill STEM-related jobs as businesses shift towards innovating and modernizing.^{Footnote 7}

Challenges with IP

About 50% of cleantech firms reported high fees and lengthy approval processes as the greatest challenges to securing patents. Securing a patent through the Canadian Intellectual Property Office takes an average of 6 years, costing SMEs close to $1000.^{Footnote 8} While SME's and universities benefit from reduced fees, maintaining an active patent for 20 years can cost an additional $3,000 to $5,000.^{Footnote 9} Depending on the complexity of the invention, legal fees can significantly increase the total cost of filling and protecting an invention.

Equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI)

At the management level, only 13% of cleantech firms are owned or managed by women and 2% by Indigenous peoples. When comparing to the overall environmental and cleantech workforce, women and Indigenous peoples represented 36% and 6% respectively in 2020.^{Footnote 10} These ratios have remained constant over the past decade: female and Indigenous representation in the workforce were 33% and 4% in 2009, respectively.^{Footnote 10}

Additional insights

Hiring: 38% of cleantech firms struggle finding the right skilled employees on the market
Hiring: Atlantic Canada and Manitoba are the provinces where firms most struggle with finding resources to train employees (48%, 51%) and a lack of interest in offered jobs (32%, 31%)
Commercialization: Access to funding (50%) and lack of regulatory drivers to adoption (44%) are the greatest challenges to clean technology commercialization in Canada
Federal Procurement: 61% of cleantech firms are unaware of federal procurement opportunities
Navigating government: Lengthy approval processes (61%) and excessive paperwork (58%) are the greatest challenges companies face when accessing government programs and funding
Export: Funding international visits (25%) and finding private foreign customers (22%) are the greatest barriers to exporting
EDI: 28% of firms in the waste and recycling industry are owned or managed by women, compared to 13% for overall survey respondents

Overall results and by stage of development

Greatest overall challenge

Raising sufficient capital (35%) is by far the greatest barrier to growth for clean tech companies

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**Among the following categories, which was the most difficult to navigate? (select one)**
	All Companies (n=631)
Raising sufficient capital	35%
Commercializing and scaling up in Canada	19%
Finding and retaining talent	13%
Navigating federal government programs and agencies	12%
Testing and de-risking technology	8%
Obtaining the right connections and in-kind supports	6%
Selling to government	5%
Exporting	1%
Protecting IP	1%

Raising sufficient capital becomes less of an issue for commercialized, export, and service provider companies, which instead require non financial support to expand into new markets.

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**Among the following categories, which was the most difficult to navigate? (select one)**
	R&D (n=59)	D&T (n=146)	C&S (n=192)	EXP (n=102)	SP (n=134)
Raising sufficient capital	49%	52%	34%	27%	18%
Testing and de-risking technology	19%	21%	6%	0%	0%
Finding and retaining talent	10%	7%	7%	14%	28%
Obtaining the right connections and in-kind supports	8%	5%	3%	4%	10%
Navigating federal government programs and agencies	7%	9%	10%	5%	1%
Selling to government	3%	3%	5%	8%	4%
Commercializing and scaling up in Canada	0%	0%	34%	28%	22%
Exporting	0%	0%	0%	12%	18%
Protecting IP	2%	3%	0%	0%	0%

Target Industries

Most cleantech companies serve utilities (38%) and manufacturing (35%) industries.

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**Which of the following best describes the market(s) that your company targets and sells to? (select all that apply)**
	All Companies (n=639)
Utilities	38%
Manufacturing	35%
Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction	24%
Professional, scientific, and technical services	23%
Agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting	22%
Construction	21%
Administrative support, waste management, …	13%
Transportation and warehousing	13%
Public administration	7%
Real estate and rental and leasing	7%
Wholesale trade	7%
Retail trade	5%
Information and cultural industries	3%
Health care and social assistance	3%
Accommodation and food services	3%
Finance and insurance	3%
Management of companies and enterprises	2%
Educational services	2%
Arts, entertainment, and recreation	1%

R&D companies primarily target manufacturing (50%) while exporters and service providers primarily target utilities (47%, 51% respectively).

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**Which of the following best describes the market(s) that your company targets and sells to? (select all that apply) (top 6, by stage of development)**
	R&D (n=59)	D&T (n=146)	C&S (n=192)	EXP (n=107)	SP (n=135)
Manufacturing	50%	37%	39%	41%	18%
Utilities	35%	32%	30%	47%	51%
Agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting	27%	20%	26%	24%	14%
Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction	20%	23%	28%	34%	16%
Professional, scientific, and technical services	20%	31%	19%	24%	19%
Construction	20%	13%	16%	23%	36%

Hiring Issues

Rising salaries and wage costs is the primary labor concern for cleantech companies (56%).

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**What barriers have you encountered in recruiting and retaining employees? (select all that apply)**
	Count Total (n=639)
Rising salaries and wage costs	56%
Lack of skills required for job in the market	38%
Insufficient resources to support training of new employees	28%
Competition from other firms	25%
Difficulty attracting employees for senior positions	23%
Lack of interest in offered positions	15%
Company location too remote	1%

Skills Needed

69% of companies are looking for professionals in applied & technical sciences (e.g. engineers, product designers, chemists).

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**What occupations are you going to be looking for to scale your business? (select three)**
	Count Total (n=637)
Applied & Technical sciences	69%
Business, finance, and administration	45%
Sales and service occupations	36%
Software and data analytics	29%
Trades and related occupations	27%
Occupations in manufacturing and utilities	25%
Transport and equipment operators	5%^{table 6 note *}
Education, law and social, community, and government	3%
Not applicable (not hiring/don't know)	3%
Table 6 Notes Table 6 Note * Transport & equipment operators are not expected to be in high need by cleantech firms Return to table 6 note * referrer

Applied & technical scientists are most needed in the early stages of innovation, and least needed by service providers.

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**What occupations are you going to be looking for to scale your business? (select three) (by stage of development)**
	Count R&D (n=59)	Count D&T (n=146)	Count C&S (n=192)	Count E (n=106)	Count SP (n=134)
Applied & Technical sciences	77%	85%	69%	67%	48%
Business, finance, and administration	48%	47%	51%	35%	41%
Software and data analytics	33%	31%	29%	39%	18%
Sales and service occupations	33%	30%	42%	39%	32%
Occupations in manufacturing and utilities	32%	28%	29%	28%	12%
Trades and related occupations	12%	25%	24%	25%	44%^{table 7 note *}
Table 7 Notes Table 7 Note * Service Providers disproportionately look for trade & related occupations. Return to table 7 note * referrer

Patent Problems

The time and money required to secure patent protection are major challenges for firms at the R&D and D&T stages.

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**If you have ever applied for patent protection, what issues hindered you during the application process? (select all that apply)**
	R&D, D&T
High fees	56%
Lengthy approval process	47%
Complexity of application process	31%
Did not experience any challenge at this stage	16%
Not applicable (no patents/don't know)	14%
Lack of connections with other knowledgeable businesses	5%

Similar trends across stages of development, R&D companies have less patents than D&T companies.

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**If you have ever applied for patent protection, what issues hindered you during the application process? (select all that apply) (by stage of development)**
	R&D (n=57)	D&T (n=146)
High fees	45%	60%
Lengthy approval process	40%	49%
Complexity of application process	26%	33%
Lack of connections with other knowledgeable businesses	3%	5%
Did not experience any challenge at this stage	12%	18%
Not applicable (no patents/don't know)	26%	8%

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

13% of cleantech companies are owned by women but most others lack diversity at the management level.

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**Is your company over 50% owned, managed and/or controlled by person(s) who self-identify as… (select all that apply)**
	Count Total (n=639)
Women	13%
Black and other members of racialized communities	8%
Person(s) living with a disability	3%
Member of the LGBTQ2S+ community	2%
Indigenous person(s) including First Nations, Inuit, and Métis	1%

R&D cleantech companies are the most diverse by stage of development (18% women, 18% Black and other members of racialized communities).

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**Is your company over 50% owned, managed and/or controlled by person(s) who self-identify as…(select all that apply) (by stage of development)**
	Women	Black and other members of racialized communities	Person(s) living with a disability	Member of the LGBTQ2S+ community	Indigenous person(s) including First Nations, Inuit, and Métis
R&D	18%	18%	5%	2%	0%
D&T	12%	9%	3%	2%	1%
C&S	13%	10%	4%	2%	3%
EXP	16%	2%	2%	0%	0%
SP	12%	6%	3%	0%	4%

Non-financial Supports

Industry connections (63%) stand out as the primary in-kind support needed by cleantech companies.

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**What non-financial (in-kind) supports would benefit your business in terms of researching and developing technologies? (select all that apply)**
	Count Total (n=624)
Industry connections (e.g. corporate matchmaking services, support from industry associations)	63%
Market access knowledge (international)	48%
Market access knowledge (domestic)	44%
Clean tech accelerators and incubators	35%
Mentorship and coaching opportunities	25%
Academic connections	16%
Do not need any non-financial supports	9%

Issues at Demonstration

Access to funding, from government (68%) & investors (50%) is the greatest barrier for cleantech firms during the demonstration & testing stage.

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**What are the primary challenges you are facing [at or] in preparation for the demonstration and testing phase? (select all that apply)**
	Count Total (n=391)
Lack of government funding for commercial pilots and testing at scale	264
Investor discovery (e.g. VC investment) for commercial pilots and testing at scale	197
Customer discovery (e.g. finding early adopters, first customers)	180
Inadequate/outdated regulatory frameworks that impede testing	112
Lack of access to public/academic facilities to test or demonstrate technology	88
Lack of access to private/industrial facilities to test or demonstrate technology	96
High cost of borrowing	118
Not applicable/don't know	15
Did not experience any challenge at this stage	13
Government red tape	4

Issues at Commercialization

Investor discovery is not a major challenge to commercialization (23%), yet 50% of cleantech firms struggle with finding enough funding for scale-up and growth.

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**What are your major struggles with commercialization/bringing your technology to market? (select all that apply)**
	Count Total (n=427)
Insufficient funding for scale-up and growth	50%
Lack of regulatory drivers for adoption in the Canadian market	44%
Customer discovery (e.g. finding early adopters, first customers)	34% ^{table 14 note *}
Supply chain unpredictability	31%
Lack or small size of Canadian market	30%
High cost of borrowing	24%
Investor discovery (e.g. landing first investor or securing seed funding)	23% ^{table 14 note *}
Low comparative cost of conventional products	15%
Lack of information about market you are entering	8% ^{table 14 note **}
Not applicable/don't know	4%
Did not experience any challenge at this stage	4%
Labor shortages	2%
Product is no longer differentiated enough	2%
Government red tape	1%
Table 14 Notes Table 1 Note * Customer discovery is a greater barrier to commercialization than investor discovery. Return to table 14 note * referrer Table 1 Note Market knowledge does not seem to be a major barrier to commercialization in Canada. Return to table 14 note referrer

Issues at Commercialization

Customer and investor discovery are nearly twice as challenging for firms at the commercialization stage (41% & 32% respectively) than for service providers (22% & 12%).

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**What are your major struggles with commercialization in Canada? (select all that apply) (top 6, by stage of development)**
	C&S (n=191)	EXP (n=105)	SP (n=131)
Insufficient funding for scale-up and growth	65%^{table 15 note *}	39%	37%
Lack of regulatory drivers for adoption in the Canadian market	50%	48%	31%
Customer discovery (e.g. finding early adopters, first customers)	41%	36%^{table 15 note **}	23%
Investor discovery (e.g. landing first investor or securing seed funding)	33%	19%	12%
Supply chain unpredictability	31%	26%	36%
Lack or small size of Canadian market	25%	42%	27%
Table 15 Notes Table 15 Note * Funding is most critical at the commercialization stage, prior to export (if applicable). Return to table 15 note * referrer Table 15 Note Supply chain unpredictability is considerably more difficult for service providers. Return to table 15 note referrer

Share of Exports

67% of the Canadian cleantech firms that do export make at least half of their sales abroad.

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**What percentage of your sales are exported? (select one)**
	<10%	10-30%	31-50%	51-70%	71-90%	>90%
EXP (n=107)	11%	9%	11%	20%	23%	24%

Export Destinations

The US is the main destination for 80% of the cleantech firms that export.

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**Which markets do you principally export to? (select all that apply)**
	EXP (n=107)
United States	80%
European Union	38%
United Kingdom	23%
Central/South America	14%
Southeast Asia	10%
China	8%
Mexico	8%
Oceania	8%
Japan	7%
Africa	7%

Export Issues

The greatest challenge for exporting firms is funding international visits (41%).

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**What are your major struggles with exporting your products? (select all that apply) (top 8, by stage of development)**
	EXP (n=107)	SP (n=132)
Funding support for international visits	41%	11%
Lack of support for navigating foreign regulations and agencies	27%	11%
Discovery of foreign private customers	25%	20%
Matchmaking with foreign government buyers	24%	9%
Lack of information about international customers	22%	14%
Lack of regulatory drivers for adoption in international markets	21%	11%
Did not experience any challenges at this stage	21%^{table 18 note *}	4%
Not applicable/don't know	6%	47%
Table 18 Notes Table 18 Note * The US is a top export destination: among companies that do export but did not experience any challenge, 90% exported to the US. Return to table 18 note * referrer

Interacting with Government

When navigating federal government programs, respondents were impeded by lengthy approval process (61%) and excessive paperwork (58%).

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**What were the principal barriers you faced in accessing federal government funding or navigating federal government programs & agencies? (select all that apply)**
	All Companies (n=617)
Lengthy approval process	61%
Excessive application paperwork and costs	58%
Funding application timelines do not match project timelines	52%
Difficult to understand government programs	46%
Other	9%
Did not experience any challenge at this stage	7%
Not applicable/don't know	5%

Federal Procurement

The majority of respondents are not aware of government procurement opportunities (61%).

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**Have you sold environmental/cleantech goods and/or services to the federal government? (select one)**
	All Companies (n=639)
No, not aware of government procurement opportunities	61%
Yes	13%
No, unsuccessful bid/attempt	13%
No, aware of relevant opportunities but decided not to sell	13%

As firms move from R&D to commercialization & export, they sell products and services more frequently to the federal government.

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**Have you sold environmental/cleantech goods and/or services to the federal government? (select one)**
	R&D (n=59)	D&T (n=146)	C&S (n=192)	EXP (n=107)	SP (n=135)
No, not aware of government procurement opportunities	80%	61%	59%	57%	57%
No, aware of relevant opportunities but decided not to sell	10%	14%	15%	7%	13%
No, unsuccessful bid/attempt	7%	17%	14%	15%	9%
Yes	2%	8%	13%	19%	21%

Complexity of the process (42%, 41%) and a lack of resources to navigate it (36%) dominate the responses for procurement barriers.

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**What barriers have you faced or what issues might discourage you from selling to the government? (select all that apply)**
	All Companies (n=627)
Procurement process too complex	42%
Unclear how/where to find information	41%
Lack of capacity/resources to navigate the process	36%
Not applicable/don't know	19%
Unreasonable timelines	15%
Did not experience any challenge at this stage	4%
Government does not buy new/innovative products	1%

Cleantech Industry results

Stage of development by industry

62% of cleantech firms in Mining+ have their core product at the demonstration and technology testing stage.

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**Stage of development by industry**
	R&D (n=71)	D&T (n=158)	C&S (n=214)	EXP (n=118)	SP (n=156)
Water and wastewater	4%	24%	32%	29%	10%
Waste and recycling	9%	26%	32%	12%	21%
Transportation	18%	24%	37%	12%	10%
Smart grid and energy storage	10%	15%	27%	21%	27%
Renewable energy	7%	13%	22%	13%	45%
Precision agriculture	14%	26%	40%	17%	2%
Mining, processing …	19%	62%	12%	4%	4%
Energy efficiency	10%	23%	26%	22%	19%
Biofuels, bioenergy, and bioproducts	14%	27%	39%	12%	7%
Air, environment and remediation	6%	21%	40%	16%	17%

Industry by stage of development

More than half of Service Providers are in the Renewable & Non-Emitting Energy Supply industry.

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**Distribution of industries by stage of core product development**
	R&D	D&T	C&S	EXP	SP
Air, environment and remediation	6%	8%	12%	8%	7%
Biofuels, bioenergy, and bioproducts	17%	15%	15%	8%	4%
Energy efficiency	15%	16%	14%	21%	14%
Smart grid and energy storage	7%	5%	7%	9%	9%
Precision agriculture, forestry, and biodiversity	8%	7%	8%	6%	1%
Mining, processing, materials, manufacturing and industry	7%	10%	1%	1%	1%
Renewable and non-emitting energy supply	18%	15%	19%	20%	53%
Water and wastewater	4%	10%	10%	17%	4%
Transportation	13%	8%	9%	5%	3%
Waste and recycling	4%	6%	5%	3%	4%

NAICS serviced by cleantech industry

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**Share of NAICS codes serviced by cleantech industry^{table 25 note *}**
	Manufacturing	Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction	Professional, scientific, and technical services	Construction	Utilities	Agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting
Mining, processing	58%	31%	12%	12%	0%	0%
Water and wastewater	34%	37%	25%	12%	46%	27%
Precision agriculture	26%	7%	26%	5%	2%	81%
Smart grid and energy storage	42%	32%	17%	26%	60%	11%
Air, environment and remediation	31%	45%	44%	18%	23%	15%
Waste and recycling	47%	16%	6%	16%	13%	6%
Biofuels, bioenergy, and bioproducts	46%	20%	13%	20%	33%	41%
Transportation	43%	26%	13%	19%	28%	15%
Renewable and non-emitting energy supply	24%	13%	18%	32%	61%	15%
Energy efficiency	42%	33%	34%	30%	36%	14%
Table 25 Notes Table 25 Note * Values may not add up to 100% as firms may service more than one industry. Return to table 25 note * referrer

Greatest Challenge

Raising capital is most challenging for Waste & Recycling and Precision Agriculture firms, and easiest for Water & Wastewater firms.

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**Greatest challenge to growth by industry (select one)**
	Raising sufficient capital	Navigating federal government programs and agencies	Testing and de-risking technology	Obtaining the right connections and in-kind supports	Finding and retaining talent	Protecting IP	Selling to government	Commercializing Technology	Scaling up operations	Exporting
Mining, processing, materials, manufacturing and industry	35%	23%	19%	12%	4%	4%	4%	0%	0%	0%
Water and wastewater	21%	12%	13%	9%	18%	0%	6%	12%	9%	0%
Precision agriculture, forestry, and biodiversity	48%	7%	10%	5%	7%	0%	0%	12%	10%	2%
Smart grid and energy storage	34%	8%	2%	6%	17%	2%	6%	15%	11%	0%
Air, environment and remediation	35%	11%	6%	11%	10%	0%	3%	13%	8%	2%
Waste and recycling	44%	9%	13%	6%	9%	0%	6%	0%	9%	3%
Biofuels, bioenergy, and bioproducts	35%	10%	14%	6%	12%	0%	5%	10%	8%	0%
Transportation	36%	15%	9%	4%	8%	0%	6%	15%	8%	0%
Renewable and non-emitting energy supply	38%	15%	2%	4%	16%	1%	5%	5%	14%	1%
Energy efficiency	34%	13%	10%	7%	11%	2%	5%	8%	12%	1%

Hiring

Between 32% and 42% of firms across all industries struggle to find the right skills on the market and retaining employees.

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**What barriers have you encountered in hiring and retaining employees (by industry)**
	Rising salaries and wage costs	Lack of skills required for the job	Difficulty attracting employees for senior positions	Competition from other firms	Insufficient resources to support training of new employee	Did not experience any challenge at this stage	Lack of interest in offered positions
Mining, processing, materials, manufacturing and industry	54%	38%	31%	31%	23%	15%	8%
Water and wastewater	54%	33%	24%	28%	31%	12%	18%
Precision agriculture, forestry, and biodiversity	57%	36%	33%	17%	36%	10%	12%
Smart grid and energy storage	64%	36%	21%	32%	26%	9%	23%^{table 27 note *}
Air, environment and remediation	60%	32%	19%	29%	32%	11%	6%
Waste and recycling	72%	44%	28%	25%^{table 27 note *}	13%	13%	25%
Biofuels, bioenergy, and bioproducts	49%	39%	24%	20%	25%	16%	14%
Transportation	58%	40%	32%	23%	28%	9%	15%
Renewable and non-emitting energy supply	54%	42%	21%	23%	26%	13%	18%
Energy efficiency	62%	41%	25%	29%	27%	13%	12%
Table 27 Notes Table 27 Note * The firms that struggle most with a lack of interest in work positions are in Waste & Recycling and Smart Grid & Energy Storage Return to table 27 note * referrer

Skills

In every industry, more than 50% of cleantech firms will need Applied & Technical Sciences professionals to grow.

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**What occupations are you going to be looking for to scale your business? (by industry)**
	Applied & Technical sciences	Business, finance, and administration	Trades and related occupations	Sales and service occupations	Software and data analytics	Occupations in manufacturing and utilities
Mining, processing, materials, manufacturing and industry	88%	42%	23%^{table 28 note *}	19%	4%	8%
Water and wastewater	84%	36%	10%	21%	24%	4%
Precision agriculture, forestry, and biodiversity	74%	52%	7%	14%	24%	5%
Smart grid and energy storage	79%	55%	11%	15%	19%	8%
Air, environment and remediation	81%	53%	8%	13%	21%	3%
Waste and recycling	66%	44%	19%	19%	19%	13%
Biofuels, bioenergy, and bioproducts	76%	53%	18%	17%	10%	7%
Transportation	70%	53%	4%	11%	25%	6%
Renewable and non-emitting energy supply	57%	49%	29%	22%	13%	5%
Energy efficiency	74%	47%	12%	16%	47%^{table 28 note **}	3%
Table 28 Notes Table 28 Note * Trades and related occupations are most needed by firms in the Mining+ and the Renewable and non-emitting energy supply industries. Return to table 28 note * referrer Table 28 Note Software and data analytics skills are most needed by Energy Efficiency firms. Return to table 28 note referrer

Non-financial Supports

More than half of firms across all industries seek support making industry connections.

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**What non-financial (in-kind) supports would benefit your business in terms of researching and developing technologies? (by industry)**
	Industry connections	Market access knowledge (international)	Market access knowledge (domestic)	Clean tech accelerators and incubators	Academic connections	Mentorship and coaching opportunities	Connections in the export market
Mining, processing, materials, manufacturing and industry	69%	50%	42%	27%	27%	23%	4%
Water and wastewater	75%	54%	48%	31%	19%	21%	22%
Precision agriculture, forestry, and biodiversity	67%	69%^{table 29 note *}	40%	33%	12%	26%	14%
Smart grid and energy storage	72%	47%	43%	45%^{table 29 note **}	13%	34%	13%
Air, environment and remediation	65%	52%	35%	21%	11%	21%	13%
Waste and recycling	59%	56%	44%	25%	16%	16%	9%
Biofuels, bioenergy, and bioproducts	66%	57%	53%	37%	22%	29%	11%
Transportation	62%	51%	38%	42%	15%	28%	8%
Renewable and non-emitting energy supply	51%	36%	43%	39%	14%	25%	14%
Energy efficiency	77%	54%	49%	38%	13%	26%	13%
Table 29 Notes Table 29 Note * International market access knowledge is most critical for Precision Agriculture, Forestry, and Biodiversity firms. Return to table 29 note * referrer Table 29 Note 45% of firms in Smart Grid and Energy Storage seek more cleantech accelerators and incubators. Return to table 29 note referrer

Federal Procurement

Long-standing cleantech industries like Water and Wastewater (24%) have been most successful with selling to government.

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**Has your company sold cleantech goods or services to the federal government? (by industry)**
	No, not aware of government procurement opportunities	Yes	No, unsuccessful bid	No, aware of relevant opportunities but decided not to sell
Mining, processing …	73%	0%	15%	12%
Water and wastewater	56%	24%	12%	9%
Precision agriculture …	76%	5%	7%	12%
Smart grid and energy storage	59%	14%	16%	12%
Air, environment and remediation	56%	16%	13%	16%
Waste and recycling	65%	3%	18%	15%
Biofuels, bioenergy, and bioproducts	74%	5%	10%	12%
Transportation	57%	10%	25%	8%
Renewable and non-emitting energy supply	57%	18%	13%	13%
Energy efficiency	61%	16%	10%	13%

Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

Waste and recycling, Smart grid and energy storage firms are the highest owned or managed by women (28% and 21% respectively).

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**Is your company over 50% owned, managed and/or controlled by person(s) who self-identify as... (by industry)**
	Women	Black and other members of racialized communities	Indigenous person(s) including First Nations, Inuit, and Métis	Member of the LGBTQ2S+ community	Person(s) living with a disability
Mining, processing …	8%^{table 31 note *}	4%	0%	0%	0%
Water and wastewater	12%	6%	1%	1%	4%
Precision agriculture …	10%	12%	0%	0%	5%
Smart grid and energy storage	21%	9%	2%	4%	4%
Air, environment and remediation	18%	13%	3%	0%	5%
Waste and recycling	28%	6%	3%	0%	0%
Biofuels, bioenergy, and bioproducts	8%	8%	1%	4%	2%
Transportation	15%	9%	2%	0%	4%
Renewable and non-emitting energy supply	13%	7%	4%	1%	3%
Energy efficiency	10%	11%	0%	1%	1%
Table 31 Notes Table 31 Note * Fourth quarter of the April 1, 2009, to March 31, 2010, fiscal year. Return to table 31 note * referrer

Province and Territory results

Greatest Challenge

Raising sufficient capital is again the most consistent challenge across provinces.

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**Among the following categories, which was the most difficult to navigate? (select one)**
	Saskatchewan	Quebec	Ontario	Manitoba	British Columbia	Atlantic Provinces	Alberta
Raising sufficient capital	31%	33%	37%	36%	41%	27%	31%
Commercializing and scaling-up in Canada	19%	18%	21%	14%	15%	23%	23%
Finding and retaining talent	6%	13%	13%	0%	18%	20%	5%
Navigating federal government programs and agencies	19%	14%	9%	14%	7%	14%	17%
Testing and de-risking technology	6%	6%	8%	7%	9%	7%	14%
Obtaining the right connections and in-kind supports	13%	8%	5%	14%	4%	2%	5%
Selling to government	6%	8%	5%	7%	4%	5%	2%
Exporting	0%	0%	2%	0%	1%	0%	1%
Protecting IP	0%	0%	0%	7%	1%	2%	2%

Hiring Issues

Lack of resources to train new employees is most challenging for cleantech firms in Manitoba and Atlantic Canada.

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**What barriers have you encountered in recruiting and retaining employees? (top 6, by province)**
	Rising salaries and wage costs	Lack of skills required for the job	Competition from other firms	Difficulty attracting employees for senior positions	Insufficient resources to support training of new employee	Lack of interest in offered positions
Alberta (n=109)	54%	31%	27%	17%	26%	8%
Atlantic Provinces (n=44)	50%	32%	23%	27%	48%	32%^{table 33 note *}
British Columbia (n=139)	63%	40%	28%	27%	24%	19%
Manitoba (n=13)	38%	38%	8%	8%	54%	31%^{table 33 note *}
Ontario (n=210)	57%	38%	21%	20%	26%	15%
Quebec (n=106)	53%	38%	29%	25%	26%	12%
Saskatchewan (n=17)	47%	29%	12%	29%	29%	12%
Table 33 Notes Table 33 Note * Cleantech firms in both Manitoba and the Atlantic Provinces are also most affected by a lack of interested in offered positions. Return to table 33 note * referrer

Skills Needed

Applied & Technical sciences skills are the most needed across all provinces (69% average).

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**What occupations are you going to be looking for to scale your business? (top 6, by province)**
	Applied & Technical sciences	Business, finance, and administration	Sales and service occupations	Trades and related occupations	Occupations in manufacturing and utilities	Software and data analytics
Alberta (n=109)	72%	58%^{table 34 note *}	37%	26%	19%	28%
Atlantic Provinces (n=44)	68%	48%	48%	34%	11%	32%
British Columbia (n=139)	73%	45%	33%	31%	29%	26%
Manitoba (n=13)	62%	23%	62%	38%	23%	46%
Ontario (n=210)	61%	40%	37%	25%	28%	30%
Quebec (n=106)	71%	46%	34%	23%	27%	29%
Saskatchewan (n=17)	76%	29%	29%	29%	18%	29%
Table 34 Notes Table 34 Note * Pure play firms in Alberta are most likely to be looking for business, finance, and administration professionals. Return to table 34 note * referrer

Non-financial Supports

Industry connections are a consistent need across all provinces (61% average).

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**What non-financial (in-kind) supports would benefit your business in terms of researching and developing technologies (top 6, by province)**
	Industry connections	Market access knowledge (international)	Market access knowledge (domestic)	Clean tech accelerators and incubators	Mentorship and coaching opportunities	Academic connections
Alberta (n=109)	57%	50%	41%	26%	20%	8%
Atlantic Provinces (n=44)	55%	39%	36%	32%	41%^{table 35 note *}	16%
British Columbia (n=139)	66%	47%	42%	35%	24%	14%
Manitoba (n=13)	54%	15%	23%	38%	38%	38%
Ontario (n=210)	64%	45%	43%	40%	24%	17%
Quebec (n=106)	60%	55%	47%	29%	22%	19%
Saskatchewan (n=17)	71%	53%	41%	29%	18%	6%
Table 35 Notes Table 35 Note * Mentorship and coaching opportunities are most important for cleantech firms in Atlantic Canada. Return to table 35 note * referrer

Issues at Commercialization

The greatest challenge to commercialization for Ontario firms is the lack of regulatory drivers for the technology's adoption in the market.

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**What are your major struggles with commercialization? (top 6, by province)**
	Insufficient funding for scale-up and growth	Lack of regulatory drivers for adoption in the Canadian market	Lack or small size of Canadian market	Supply chain unpredictability	Customer discovery (e.g. finding early adopters)	High cost of borrowing
Alberta (n=81)	56%	43%	27%	31%	32%	23%
Atlantic Provinces (n=27)	59%	52%	19%	44%	30%	26%
British Columbia (n=96)	48%	33%	32%	31%	31%	20%
Manitoba (n=6)	67%	50%	33%	33%	33%	17%
Ontario (n=145)	45%	48%	32%	30%	33%	23%
Quebec (n=66)	45%	39%	30%	20%	42%	26%
Saskatchewan (n=8)	75%	63%	0%	63%	50%	25%

Federal Procurement

Cleantech companies in Quebec are most aware of federal government procurement opportunities (49%).

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**Have you sold environmental/cleantech goods and/or services to the federal government? (by province)**
	No, not aware of government procurement opportunities	Yes	No, unsuccessful bid	No, aware of relevant opportunities but decided not to sell
Saskatchewan (n=17)	88%	0%	6%	6%
Quebec (n=106)	51%	11%	25%	12%
Ontario (n=210)	61%	16%	10%	12%
Manitoba (n=13)	71%	14%	14%	0%
British Columbia (n=139)	59%	13%	11%	17%
Atlantic Provinces (n=44)	59%	18%	16%	7%
Alberta (n=109)	70%	10%	8%	12%

Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

21% of Alberta-based pure play firms are primarily owned by women, compared to the provincial average of 13%.

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**Is your company over 50% owned, managed and/or controlled by person(s) who self-identify as... (by province)**
	Women	Black and other members of racialized communities	Person(s) living with a disability	Indigenous person(s) including First Nations, Inuit, and Métis	Member of the LGBTQ2S+ community
Alberta (n=109)	21%	10%	2%	2%	2%
Atlantic Provinces (n=44)	14%	9%	2%	2%	5%
British Columbia (n=139)^{table 38 note *}	9%	6%	4%	1%	0%
Manitoba (n=13)	15%	0%	8%	8%	0%
Ontario (n=210)	13%	11%	3%	2%	1%
Quebec (n=106)^{table 38 note *}	11%	7%	1%	2%	1%
Saskatchewan (n=17)	12%	0%	6%	6%	0%
Table 38 Notes Table 38 Note * BC and QC firms ranked the lowest in diverse ownership or management structures. Return to table 38 note * referrer

2022 Cleantech Industry Survey Results

On this page

Acknowledgements

Methodology

Executive summary – key findings

Greatest overall challenge

Target markets

Challenges with hiring

Most sought-after skills

Challenges with IP

Equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI)

Additional insights

Overall results and by stage of development

Greatest overall challenge

Target Industries

Hiring Issues

Skills Needed

Table 6 Notes

Table 7 Notes

Patent Problems

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

Non-financial Supports

Issues at Demonstration

Issues at Commercialization

Table 14 Notes

Issues at Commercialization

Table 15 Notes

Share of Exports

Export Destinations

Export Issues

Table 18 Notes

Interacting with Government

Federal Procurement

Cleantech Industry results

Stage of development by industry

Industry by stage of development

NAICS serviced by cleantech industry

Table 25 Notes

Greatest Challenge

Hiring

Table 27 Notes

Skills

Table 28 Notes

Non-financial Supports

Table 29 Notes

Federal Procurement

Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

Table 31 Notes

Province and Territory results

Greatest Challenge

Hiring Issues

Table 33 Notes

Skills Needed

Table 34 Notes

Non-financial Supports

Table 35 Notes

Issues at Commercialization

Federal Procurement

Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

Table 38 Notes