Backgrounder
September 25, 2008
BUILDING ONTARIO’S INNOVATION ECONOMY WHILE TACKLING CLIMATE CHANGE
Creating the Jobs, Clean Technologies and Energy Sources of the Future
Ontario is committed to supporting research and innovation as a means of turning global challenges into our next generation of jobs – and most importantly, better lives for Ontario families.
The $3-billion Ontario Innovation Agenda is about making investments in our greatest asset – our people and our best ideas – to make this province greener, healthier and to strengthen our economy. We are focused on supporting innovation that will make Ontario more sustainable, create solutions to climate change, lead to better health care, and ignite growth in the industries that will shape our future.
JOBS OF THE FUTURE
Cleantech is more than just green energy and recycling. It spans across the economy.
In agriculture, there are bio-based materials, farm efficiency technologies, micro-irrigation systems, and natural pesticides.
In energy, there is distributed and renewable energy generation and conversion (including fuel cells, geothermal, wind and photovoltaics). There is energy storage and power quality, key enabling technologies, and related Internet and information technology-based services.
In manufacturing, there is advanced packaging, high value materials recovery, natural chemistry, sensors, smart construction materials, precision manufacturing instruments.
In transportation, hybrid vehicles, lighter materials, smart logistics software, and telecommuting.
In water, there is recycling and ultra-filtration systems (UV and membrane based systems), sensors and automation systems, and more.
“Greentech could be the largest economic opportunity of the 21st century.”
Source: John Doerr, Senior Partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, 2006 as quoted in Corporate Knights CleanTech Issue 2007.
LEGACY
Ontario has a proud legacy of research excellence and innovation, and of turning our best science and ideas into world-leading products and services.
Ontario discovered stem cells and insulin. We invented the pacemaker. And right now Ontario companies are building cleaner ways to generate the energy we need, by engineering new technologies that do a better job of tapping into the power of the sun, wind, and water. From IMAX to the Blackberry, to the science and technology that helped put a man on the moon and robots on Mars, Ontario ideas, discoveries and inventions reach around the globe.
And with support from the Ontario government, innovative people and companies are turning global challenges like climate change and cancer into solutions that provide cleaner air, better health care, and better, more sustainable jobs for the 21st century.
ONTARIO RESEARCH FUND
Through the Ontario Research Fund, we are strengthening Ontario’s legacy of innovation and ingenuity by supporting our best and brightest researchers, the world-class research institutions that support their work, and the entrepreneurs that are helping to bring their best ideas to the global market.
ONTARIO INNOVATION AGENDA
The Ontario Research Fund is an important part of Ontario’s Innovation Agenda. Supported by $3 billion over eight years, the Ontario Innovation Agenda is focused on supporting world-class research and innovative companies in areas where the province already is, or can be, a global leader.
Ontario’s priorities are:
- Tackling climate change through bio-based, environmental, alternative energy and clean technologies
- Advancing the digital universe through new information and communications technologies
- Conquering disease through life sciences, biotechnology, advanced health technologies and pharmaceutical research.
BIO-BASED, ENVIRONMENTAL, ALTERNATIVE ENERGY AND CLEAN TECHNOLOGIES
Ontario’s investments are supporting the development of clean automobiles, fuels and technologies in line with the government’s comprehensive climate change plan and recognition that innovation is key to “greening” the economy.
Global investment in new, clean technologies – like those being funded through the Ontario Research Fund – is growing rapidly. Besides reducing energy use, emissions and waste, these new technologies can also reduce production costs.
Ontario has the natural resources, industries and research strengths to become a global leader in clean technology. New areas such as alternative energy, fuel cells and biomaterials are growing strongly in Ontario, with developments that include:
- Wind, solar and energy-management companies
- Companies offering water and waste-water, mineral processing, air emission reduction and other environmental technologies, as well as environmental management systems
- Opportunities to combine existing strengths in forestry and agriculture with new technologies to create bio-based industries and boost regional development, especially in rural and northern Ontario.
Clean technologies can add value to Ontario’s traditional industries, as well as create new ones. For example, fossil fuel-based plastics and similar materials are being replaced with biodegradable and plant-based versions. The estimated North American market for bioplastics alone is expected to be in the order of $10 billion. This presents opportunities for companies serving Ontario’s automotive sector, among others.
Ontario’s investments in clean, green technologies are part of the government’s plan to end coal-fired electrical generation and reduce Ontario’s carbon dioxide emissions by up to 30 mega tonnes.
Through the latest rounds of funding from the Ontario Research Fund program, the province is investing more than $5 million in 34 research projects at 11 postsecondary institutions across the province. The investments will help support the work of 260 of Ontario’s leading scientists working in areas such as clean technologies, climate change and the bioeconomy.
And through the province’s Innovation Demonstration Fund and Next Generation of Jobs Fund, Ontario is helping savvy entrepreneurs turn their research and ideas into reality. Here are just a few shining examples:
See also:
- News Release:
Fuelling Alternative Energy Research - Backgrounder:
Bioeconomy, Environment and Clean Technology Projects - Recipients
