Grants and Contributions

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.

Greenhouse agriculture is essential to Canadians, helping to meet the year-round demand for fresh, quality produce. However, greenhouses need artificial lighting to complement natural light, particularly during the winter months. It has been proven that the quality of light has a direct impact on plant growth and quality. Sollum's intelligent luminaires produce high-quality light and spectrum that reproduce the sun's complete cycle, offering energy savings of up to 30% and increased productivity of up to 40%.
The aim of this SDTC project is to develop an intelligent horticultural lighting solution optimized for growth and energy savings. The solution uses luminaires that compensate for natural light by producing high-quality artificial light that dynamically adjusts to light conditions in greenhouses. Sollum plans to deploy 9375 luminaires across 2.5 hectares of greenhouses. The environmental benefits over the next 5 years represent a reduction in electrical installation of 39.5 MW, and a reduction in electricity consumption of 110.5 GWh per year, as well as a saving of 2.4 to 14.0kg of mercury due to the non-deployment of HPS lamps.

Demand for building solutions that meet the resiliency challenges of a changing climate that produce regularly occurring extreme weather events is accelerating.  These events are driving demand for cement-based building envelopes and materials that are difficult to compete with in terms of resiliency, but at odds with Climate goals for decarbonization. Without a North American source of a low carbon footprint cement, to replace the reliance on traditional cement or Asian originating alternative cement products, generating meaningful reductions in GHG emissions will be unachievable.  Furthermore, security of supply chains and the Canadian advantage of pumped brines available will be left untapped.ZS2’s project, “Carbon capture and utilization plant for Direct-air-capture to magnesium cement from brine water” will demonstrate a pilot scale, continuous manufacturing process, using patent pending technology and biomass feedstock, to produce electrode-grade Activated Carbon in Canada.  The production process uses renewable biomass feedstock (lignin), a waste material from the domestic pulp and paper industry, to create a high value product that:provides superior structural capabilities compared to competitors, promotes a sustainable, circular economy, provides a secure domestic supply chain, and eliminates overseas sourcing, reducing fuel usage and lowering GHGs.

Our technology has the potential to reduce GHG emissions by over 1 GtCO2e/year by 2050. This would be equivalent eliminating all cars from the planet!

Not a Project (Mandated or Core Funding)

Not a Project (Mandated or Core Funding)

Not a Project (Mandated or Core Funding)

Support aboriginal communities in becoming successful participants in commercial fisheries and aquaculture

Support aboriginal communities in becoming successful participants in commercial fisheries and aquaculture

Support aboriginal communities in becoming successful participants in commercial fisheries and aquaculture