Eligibility

How much funding does SDTC provide?

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Note that the information below applies to SDTC’s main fund. For Seed Fund information, see Our Partnerships.

• On average 33% (up to 40%) of eligible projects costs
• The average contribution is $3 million, with funds disbursed in five years or less.
• 25% of the eligible costs must be funded through private sector contributions (including in-kind).
• Funding from all levels of government must not surpass 75% of eligible costs.
• At least 50% of eligible project costs must be incurred in Canada.

Eligibility Criteria

SDTC’s mandate is to fund projects that support Canadian small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) advancing innovative technologies that are pre-commercial and have the potential to demonstrate significant and quantifiable environmental and economic benefits in one or more of the following areas: climate change, clean air, clean water and clean soil.

We do this by providing non-repayable contributions to successful applicants. To be eligible for funding, applicants must:

• Be a Canadian company developing a new and novel technology with significant and quantifiable environmental benefits that will provide a significant retained Canadian benefit following execution of the project.
• Have a defined project and be looking to demonstrate a pre-commercial technology.
• Have a strong end-user, value proposition and be able to validate the market and commercialization potential of the technology.
• Form a consortium that includes at least one other partner (recommended that applicants seek partners who are either end users or able to validate the need and market for the technology).

Evaluation Criteria

SDTC has a competitive application process; submission of an application does not guarantee that a project will be chosen for funding. All final funding decisions are subject to approval by SDTC’s Board of Directors.

The following criteria and questions are used to evaluate projects:

Environmental benefits

• How is the environmental performance of the proposed technology better than that of existing technologies?
• What are the quantifiable environmental benefits that would result from commercial-scale deployment in Canada and globally?

Strength of technology innovation

• What is the scientific basis for the technology?
• How is the technology better than existing technologies and emerging competitors?
• What is the strength of the applicant’s intellectual property (IP)?
• What is the applicant’s IP strategy to maintain a competitive advantage?

Technology Readiness Level (TRL)

• Is the technology beyond proof of concept but pre-commercial (TRL 3-8)?
• How will the proposed project advance the technology towards commercialization?

Management capability

• What management and technical capabilities does the applicant have in order to advance and commercialize the technology?

Business plan and path to market

• What is the value proposition that will drive customers to adopt the technology?
• What is the business plan to support commercialization?
• Who are the committed project partners that will validate the market need?
• What is the potential market size for the product?

Financial strength

• What funding commitments have been secured to date?
• What is the level of interest in the technology from other investors and funders?

What types of funding requests are not considered by SDTC?

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• Funding for research projects
• Project financing for deployment of commercialized technologies (e.g., solar/wind farms, greenhouse construction)
• The purchase of a proven technology from another jurisdiction for use in Canada
• Incremental modifications to existing technologies or processes (e.g., installation of an existing solar panel technology at an industrial site)
• One-off projects to reduce emissions at a specific site
• Projects that demonstrate economic benefits without environmental benefits