Canada’s cleantech startups are still playing the waiting game as their biggest source of funding continues to hold onto millions of dollars.
Driving the news: Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC) has become an ongoing issue in Parliament. Despite a motion calling for everything related to a probe of the agency to be turned over, the Liberal government has withheld several documents and only provided redacted versions of others.
- SDTC has become a target for the Conservative opposition, which calls it a “green slush fund” that’s emblematic of wasteful government spending.
Catch-up: SDTC’s funding was frozen last October after whistleblowers alleged mismanagement and conflicts of interest at the cleantech funding agency. Several hearings, investigations, and resignations later, SDTC was turned from a government agency into a funding program managed by the National Research Council.
- SDTC is Canada’s biggest funder of green tech startups. It has provided grants to more than 650 companies, giving out $836 million just in the last six years.
Yes, but: Despite having its funding abilities restored in June, SDTC is still not accepting new applications. In addition to being a hot button political issue, it is also in the midst of an internal audit to ensure existing projects meet program requirements.
Zoom in: The delays in getting SDTC back up and running are causing lots of problems for cleantech startups, which are not receiving funding despite hitting their milestones, resulting in layoffs and cancelled projects.
Why it matters: Being locked out from SDTC funding has been one of the biggest issues cited by Canadian cleantech startups for over a year. And with venture capital funding still scarce, it creates a frustrating perfect storm where even the most promising tech can struggle to secure the capital it needs to grow.
Big picture: Cleantech might seem like a niche sub-sector, but it can cover a lot of different startups. It does include things like renewable energy and carbon capture, but also agriculture tech, AI, satellite imaging, and computer vision for more sustainable farming, or software that manages an enterprise’s emissions.