For Ailton Schoemberger, it is critical for Canadian cleantech and agtech ventures to diversify their partners and markets amid the uncertainty generated by Canada-U.S. political tension and trade action.
“It’s a really smart strategy to be able to look into these new markets,” said Schoemberger. “To start planting seeds into how we can get Canadian businesses to not just rely on the U.S.”
The director of growth for ClimateDoor Partners Inc., a Vancouver-based climate venture builder, helped lead a trade mission to Australia in February to connect Canadian companies with business partners.
According to Schoemberger, this was one of the largest trade missions ever conducted between Canada and Australia, with attendance of around 100 Canadian companies across agtech, cleantech, telecom and mining.
Data shows that in 2021, B.C.’s cleantech sector generated $2.76 billion in revenue and included nearly 40,100 jobs, according to a 2023 sector report by the province. The same report said there were 492 cleantech companies in B.C. in 2023, with nearly a third of them (30 per cent) in a commercialization or scale-up stage of development.
At the trade mission, ClimateDoor led a delegation of 39 companies in the agtech and cleantech sectors, said Schoemberger. Four of these companies were B.C. agtech companies, one of which was 4AG Robotics Inc.
The Salmon Arm-based company builds robots that can pick, trim and pack mushrooms in large indoor growing facilities. This crop is particularly important when it comes to fighting climate change and transitioning to meat alternatives, CEO Sean O’Connor told BIV.
“You’ve got this crop that grows really quickly.… It grows at four per cent an hour, doubles in size every day — it’s more delicate than a strawberry or tomato, so it needs to be hand-picked,” he said. “There’s a large turnover there, it’s difficult to find people to come in and do this job and it’s just a good place for automation.”
The company has been focused on building mushroom-picking robots for the last five and a half years. Its technology helps the average farm save about 8.4 million kilograms of carbon dioxide annually, according to O’Connor.
However, following wide-reaching U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods, he said the company is currently evaluating the extent of the repercussions.
“In terms of exporting our robots into the U.S., it feels like every day there’s new proclamations on what will or won’t happen,” said O’Connor.
He added the company is still sorting through whether they can continue building their robots in the province for export to the U.S., or whether they should look establishing a U.S. manufacturing base.
Despite these uncertainties, O’Connor said U.S. customer and investor relations remain smooth at the moment, and that 4AG benefits from redundancy in its supply chain.
While the company does import some parts from the U.S., he added that these aren’t in jeopardy.
4AG’s robots are now being sold commercially and operate in Australia, Europe and across multiple farms in North America. O’Connor said the company is trying to keep up with surging demand, with their robots sold out until Q1 2026.
“We’ve been very lucky that we’ve got good customers based around the world that we can focus on if all of a sudden, the U.S. becomes a closed market to us,” he said. “Right now, we’re sending more and more robots every month to Europe, Oceania and certainly here in Canada.”
Better policy, more investment needed for growing cleantech sector
Despite commercialization successes and demand for cleantech innovations., more investment and clearer policy are needed to support the sector, experts say.
This was a recurring theme at an event held last week by New Economy Canada, an initiative that includes more than 60 companies that have committed to implement clean technologies.
“This conversation, we all know, is more important than ever, because trade rules, supply chains are being upended,” said New Economy Canada president Merran Smith at the event, which was part of the organization’s cross-Canada “getting things built” tour.
“We’ve got to work together to respond to this terraform.”
The event was held at the Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»manufacturing plant of Invinity Energy Systems plc., a producer of vanadium flow batteries for energy storage. It included a panel of five political and industry leaders.
Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»city councillor Lisa Dominato underscored the growing demand for more sustainable housing and energy in cities such as Vancouver. She said that there are opportunities for cleantech to be integrated into the building and transportation sectors, which are two of the biggest emitters of carbon dioxide.
But some challenges could hinder the growth of B.C.’s cleantech sector.
“I would focus on policy,” said Michael Goehring, CEO of the Mining Association of BC, when asked what Canada’s next prime minister should do to enhance B.C.’s competitiveness in this area. “There’s a significant need for a change in mindset in the public service to stop saying ‘No’ and start asking ‘How.’”
In addition to better policy, B.C. Centre for Innovation and Clean Energy CEO Sarah Goodman said more public or non-profit investment in the early stages of cleantech ventures is critical.
“Climate-tech is not built for the venture capital model where you get in, get your 10x and get out,” she said. “This is patient, long-term capital that can develop real game changers.… You just don’t have private sector players particularly at that early stage.”
