Key enablers of Canada's ocean and renewable energy ecosystem

Here you can find a list of actors and key enablers that facilitate innovation in the Canadian ocean and renewable energy sectors!

Incubators & Accelerators

• Creative Destruction Lab - Atlantic is home to a Prime stream as well as a specialized Oceans stream. This Stream brings together experienced entrepreneurs, investors, and leading scientists from around the world who are active in the ocean industry. CDL startups work with these mentors to sharpen objectives, prioritize time and resources, raise capital, and engage with experts working on the frontiers of research.

• The Ocean Startup Project is a co-funded, national collaboration that aims to double the number of high-quality, ocean technology startups thriving in Canada. The Ocean Startup Project leads activities and invests in startups that are poised to boost Canada’s ocean economy.

• The Centre for Ocean Ventures and Entrepreneurship (COVE) brings together people, ideas, and resources that propel Canada’s marine technology sector. COVE provides strategic network-building opportunities, connections, and thought leadership amongst the global ocean tech community and runs programs to foster the development of the workforce, the acceleration of ocean tech product releases, and the success of new ventures by start-ups, scaleups and SMEs.

• Genesis is known for its flagship incubator program, Enterprise, which began 25 years ago. Since its inception, Genesis has expanded its programming to support start-ups from the ideation stage all the way to scaling their business. Genesis’ mission is to create economic wealth for the province by developing and supporting technology entrepreneurs.

• Novarium brings companies, investors and the scientific community together around a business ecosystem geared toward developing opportunities, sharing knowledge and creating national and international exposure.

• Nova Scotia Innovation Hub works with businesses in the Bioeconomy that are establishing or growing operations in Nova Scotia, support innovators along their commercialization pathway, leading to smarter utilization of Nova Scotia’s renewable natural resources, new low-carbon products for local and export markets, and enhanced prosperity for all Nova Scotians.

Key Investment Actors

• Innovacorp is Nova Scotia's early-stage venture capital organization. Target industries include information technology, clean technology, life sciences and ocean technology.

• New Brunswick Innovation Foundation helps New Brunswick innovators to solve globally relevant problems through research, solid advice and access to capital.

Educational institutions

• Dalhousie University's Department of Oceanography is located in Halifax, Nova Scotia, which is a major Canadian port city located on the Atlantic Ocean on Canada’s east coast.

• Memorial University, Newfoundland and Labrador University, has an Ocean Sciences Department that houses laboratories where research is conducted on the North Atlantic fishery, aquaculture, oceanography, ecology, behaviour and physiology.

Industry Organizations, Clusters & Networks

• The Association of British Columbia Marine Industries (ABCMI) was created to further and represent the interests of the industrial marine sector and its supply chain. The ABCMI will work to strengthen the industrial marine sector of British Columbia. It will create a positive environment in which our industry can prosper and our people can grow.

• Canada's Ocean Supercluster is an industry-led collaboration involving more than 320 industry and associate members, from organizations and companies of all sizes. With investments from across the country and linkages to international partners and Indigenous communities, OSC builds and funds larger projects to heighten Canada’s existing strengths, experience and knowledge, and open new opportunities.

• OceansAdvance is the voice of the Newfoundland and Labrador Ocean Technology Innovation Cluster. As the organization representing one of Canada’s most dynamic innovation clusters, OceansAdvance is led by groups of professionals who spearhead cutting-edge oceans research.

• Ocean Networks Canada (ONC) is a world-leading ocean observing facility hosted and owned by the University of Victoria (UVic), and managed and operated by the ONC Society, a not-for-profit established in 2007. ONC delivers ocean data from its cabled, mobile and community-based observing networks that represent an essential component of Canada’s ocean observing science capacity.

• The Ocean Technology Council of Nova Scotia (OTCNS) is an industry association representing the ocean technology and industry sector in Nova Scotia. The mandate of the Council is to advance economic opportunities for Nova Scotia’s ocean technology companies.

• The Vancouver Maritime Centre for Climate is an industry led initiative dedicated to accelerating the transition to a zero emissions shipping industry in British Columbia.

• Technopole maritime du Québec (TMQ) is a non-profit organization dedicated to the promotion and development of Quebec’s innovative maritime sectors, including maritime transportation, marine technologies, and marine biotechnologies.

If you want to explore Canadian Startups in the Ocean and Renewable sector, have a look here!