Grants and Contributions

Savormetrics has developed a multi-sensor platform that measures food properties throughout the production process and uses AI to predict food quality and minimise waste.

Transportation is one of the highest producer of GHG emissions.  Technologies directly addressing low-GHG transport can reduce GHG to zero over time; however, this will require cities to proactively develop smart transit options and widespread public adoption strategies.SmartCone’s “Intelligent Corridor” program removes barriers to smart transit adoption, protecting vulnerable road users through “smart” crosswalks and bike lanes and monitoring car traffic / emissions in real time. SmartCone’s AI-enabled intelligent infrastructure system brings interconnectivity, high-level analytics, data collection, monitoring and alerting together to increase safety and ease of use for alternative transportation. Working within the city traffic management system, this program also enables city planners to make better decisions and monitor impact in real time, including reduction of GHG emissions.  With SmartCone, medium-sized communities can reduce their CO2E emissions by 218,000 tons annually, while reducing accidents and fatalities by up to 50% and realizing nearly $60 million in economic benefits.SDTC funding, along with partnering with City of Ottawa, Hamilton and the Durham Region, will provide our platform the funding and end-user participation to complete development and ready it for commercialization. Our tech partners like Nokia and IBM will help Smartcone bring the technology to global markets while addressing Canada's needs directly, right at home, starting immediately.

SmartD Technologies (SmartD) specialises in next-generation motor control products based on the development of new electrical topologies and the use of wide-band transistors. The physical properties of these transistors, combined with SmartD's unique topologies developed in conjunction with researchers at the École de Technologie Supérieure (ETS), result in smaller, more efficient variable frequency drives that generate a better quality electrical signal.

Solaires is building the next generation of photovoltaic (PV) technologies to power the world of indoor electronics. PVs have been part of the indoor PV market for decades, though in limited use. As an example, handheld calculators have been powered by silicon PVs since the late 1970s, but in general silicon PVs are not optimised for harnessing artificial lights. Traditional silicon PVs optimally absorb and generate electricity from sunlight. This is a chemical and physical phenomenon inherent to crystalline silicon. Meanwhile, the LED and fluorescent lighting that illuminate our homes and offices are “colder” than sunlight, where the average wavelength of light is shifted towards the bluer end of the light spectrum, which crystalline silicon is poorly aligned with. This is where perovskite technologies shine brightest. The chemical formulation of perovskites is variable, and with that variability comes a wide range of optimal wavelengths of light that perovskites can absorb. In fact, of all photovoltaic materials, perovskites are the only class of material that can be tuned to optimally absorb any light in the visible spectrum.

This project with SDTC encompasses the development our PVModules, external qualification from independent organizations and pilot partners, commercialization of PVModules, and the early stages of building our future line of PVFilms, a grid-scale perovskite solar solution.

Enabling high-performance wireless connectivity at ultra low power for the next generation of mobile devices, AR/VR systems, gaming and audio, and IoT applications

Swirltex builds custom wastewater treatment systems, with a novel membrane treatment technology that achieves ultra-filtered quality water. The mobile units have the capability to produce up to 2,500m3/day of clean water. The solution enables wastewater recycling, reducing fresh water consumption and disposal volumes.
Swirltex’s first produced water commercialization project will occur in Northern B.C., treating water produced from the Montney formation. This project will serve as a proof of concept for the treatment solution in terms of quality and capacity, as well as a validation of the re-use business model.

Thetis Environmental has developed a novel 3D spatial membrane that provides superior productivity, improved membrane strength and durability, and reduced energy consumption in the high strength, high suspended solids water treatment market. The 3D membrane will be implemented in Thetis’ patented PermaFlux™ technology for this market. The new PermaFlux™ XL module (with 3D membranes) increases membrane active surface area and further decreases cost and system complexity. PermaFlux™ is able to filter difficult to treat industrial wastewater and provides clean effluent with very low environmental impact.

Universal Matter is commercializing a new patent-pending process to produce the best and the most affordable graphene using simple carbon ingredients such as petcoke, biomass and recycled plastics, creating stronger, lighter, and more resilient products while dramatically reducing emissions and leading the transition towards the crucial circular economy.Universal Matter is commercializing a new patent-pending process to become the world’s leading supplier of high quality and the most economical turbostratic graphene, using a broad range of carbon-based feedstock materials including recycled plastic and rubber, to dramatically reduce GHG emissions in a number of large volume and global target market sectors.

VueReal is one of few semiconductor companies in Canada and the only display company in North America, is planning to expand its custom display productions in Canada. Due to change in market dynamic and strategic value of displays and semiconductor in supply chain, VueReal is getting significant interest from its partners through receiving purchase orders for its displays. This project will enable us to address the early market and prepare us for expansion and scale up for higher production.

Canada’s space strategy states that “fewer than 10% of Canadian farms currently use satellite imagery, and that increasing that to just 25% by 2027 could lead to cost savings of $650M to 1.3B.” This proposal describes AgSat, a nanosatellite that will provide “hyperspectral” images of farms, enabling the optimization of water and fertilizer which in turn reduces GHG emissions and saves Canadian farmers hundreds of millions of dollars per year. AgSat will address the lack of affordable, available, and high-resolution hyperspectral imagery. Some firms using Hyperspectral imagery have shown $20/acre savings in water and fertilizer use (Euroconsult market report, 2019). However, the technique is underutilized due to its high cost. By providing hyperspectral imagery from satellite, the price farmers pay will be reduced by over 100x compared to drones and airplanes and the imagery can be made available daily enabling farmers to use precision agriculture easily and regularly.