Canada: International Technology Pilot and Demonstration Program — Cleantech

The International Technology Pilot and Demonstration (ITPD) program is designed to help Canadian SMEs validate, adapt and integrate their clean technologies with foreign corporate partners and end-users in international markets, and help SMEs break the barriers of entry, accelerate the commercialization of Canadian clean technologies and improve bankability. Successful applicants that can develop a technology piloting or demonstration project with their foreign partners may be eligible to receive NRC IRAP funding support to execute the project.

This program is divided in 2 streams:

• Indo Pacific Stream: South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, South East Asia, India, Australia and New Zealand
• Rest of the World Stream: The United States of America, Europe and other potential lucrative markets

Sectors of Focus

Through this program, projects must focus on any areas of clean technologies with impact on greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction or other environmental impact including:

• clean energy: solar, wind, hydro, hydrogen and fuel cells, and other forms of clean energy, energy storage, energy efficiency or improvement, clean fuels, smart grid, combined heat and power (CHP)
• carbon management: carbon capture, utilization and storage
• environmental technologies: water, waste water, soil, solid waste and air pollution
• circular economy: reuse or recycling of materials or resources
• efficiency improvements
• waste reduction

Funding

• Eligible Canadian SMEs may receive up to 50% reimbursement of the total project costs up to a maximum total funding amount of $300,000 CAD over 6 to 12 months. All selected projects must start after: November 1, 2024.
• Through this program, the foreign corporate partner will be participating on a self-funded basis. In addition, they must provide in-kind resources to the Canadian applicants, such as:
  • access to unique facilities in real-field-conditions for innovation testing
  • use of internal services, expertise, knowledge, data-sets or equipment
  • expertise and consulting to integrate SME technologies into its own systems
  • regulatory and legal guidance to ensure compliance in their foreign partner country and internationally
  • assistance in co-commercialization of product with relevant local business partners

Eligibility Requirements

• In order to participate in this initiative, applicants must form a collaborative technology piloting or demonstration project that meets the following criteria:
  • Consortium
    • The project consortium must include at least:
      • 1 eligible Canadian SME
      • 1 foreign corporate partner
    • The parties listed above must be unrelated parties (i.e. no direct, indirect, beneficial or constructive ownership interest between these parties)
    • The project partners that form the consortium must agree on a plan addressing intellectual property (IP) rights and intent to commercialize
• Project
  • The project must focus on technology piloting, demonstration, validation, or adaptation of an innovative product, process, or technology-based service that has:
    • commercial potential and outcomes that can be realized within 1 to 2 years of completion of the project
    • quantifiable performance objectives
    • a civilian (non-military) purpose
• Canadian applicant eligibility requirements:
  • The Canadian SME applicant must:
    • be an incorporated, profit oriented small or medium-sized business in Canada
    • have 500 or fewer full time equivalent employees
    • pursue growth and profit by developing and commercializing innovative, technology driven new or improved products, services or processes in Canada
    • have a differentiated and protectable technology with commercial potential in global markets
    • have sufficient working capital (e.g. revenue, investment, etc.) and resources to undertake technology piloting or demonstration and commercialize the results
    • be committed to significant growth through international market expansion
    • have solid go to market strategy, production, supply chain management and post sale service plans and ability to execute the strategies in order to capitalize on potential successful technology piloting or demonstration
  • Preference may be given to SME applicants who:
    • have a minimum of 15 full-time equivalent employees
    • have commercialized 1 or more products domestically or internationally
    • have greater than $500,000 CAD in annual revenue
    • have met the technology readiness level (TRL) 7 or greater
    • have prior experience in domestic technology piloting or demonstration
    • Foreign corporate partner eligibility requirements
• The foreign corporate partner will participate in this collaborative project on a self-funded basis. The ideal foreign corporate partner must:
  • have a dominant presence in the targeted geographic market or possess a wide international network and be acknowledged as a leader in the target sector
  • have critical pain points or attractive market opportunities
  • have a goal of adopting new technologies or assisting the commercialization of the technologies resulting from the project
  • provide in-kind contributions or additional financial resources
  • work with Canadian SMEs to arrive at a mutually beneficially IP agreement
  • have a defined structure to engage with Canadian SMEs
  • have the support from senior management and operational business units (demonstrated via a memorandum of understanding (MOU) or Letter of Intent (LoI))
  • have a focus on collaboration (the intent of the project is not company acquisition)

For more information, visit Government of Canada.