International Technology Pilot and Demonstration Program — Cleantech

1. Introduction

The National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC IRAP) has developed a program to support Canadian small or medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to engage in international technology piloting and demonstration in the clean technologies sector.

The International Technology Pilot and Demonstration (ITPD) program is designed to help Canadian SMEs validate, adapt and integrate their clean technologies with foreign corporate partners and end-users in international markets, and help SMEs break the barriers of entry, accelerate the commercialization of Canadian clean technologies and improve bankability. Successful applicants that can develop a technology piloting or demonstration project with their foreign partners may be eligible to receive NRC IRAP funding support to execute the project.

This program is divided in 2 streams:

1. Indo Pacific Stream: South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, South East Asia, India, Australia and New Zealand
2. Rest of the World Stream: The United States of America, Europe and other potential lucrative markets

2. Application deadlines

• Canadian registration deadline: May 22, 2024
• Canadian expression of interest submission deadline: May 31, 2024
• Project proposal submission deadline: August 29, 2024
• Notification of results: October 11, 2024
• Expected start date: November 1, 2024

3. Sectors of focus

Through this program, projects must focus on any areas of clean technologies with impact on greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction or other environmental impact including:

• clean energy: solar, wind, hydro, hydrogen and fuel cells, and other forms of clean energy, energy storage, energy efficiency or improvement, clean fuels, smart grid, combined heat and power (CHP)
• carbon management: carbon capture, utilization and storage
• environmental technologies: water, waste water, soil, solid waste and air pollution
• circular economy: reuse or recycling of materials or resources
• efficiency improvements
• waste reduction

4. Eligibility requirements

In order to participate in this initiative, applicants must form a collaborative technology piloting or demonstration project that meets the following criteria:

4.1 Consortium

• The project consortium must include at least:
  • 1 eligible Canadian SME
  • 1 foreign corporate partner
• The parties listed above must be unrelated parties (i.e. no direct, indirect, beneficial or constructive ownership interest between these parties)
• The project partners that form the consortium must agree on a plan addressing intellectual property (IP) rights and intent to commercialize

4.2 Project

• The project must focus on technology piloting, demonstration, validation, or adaptation of an innovative product, process, or technology-based service that has:
  • commercial potential and outcomes that can be realized within 1 to 2 years of completion of the project
  • quantifiable performance objectives
  • a civilian (non-military) purpose
• The project must demonstrate:
  • an obvious advantage and added value resulting from the cooperation between the participants

Please note a few examples of eligible project activities:

• Design and construction of pilot system
• Site preparation and installation
• Pilot plant commissioning and testing all systems
• Sustained operation of a plant or system (typically, minimally for a few weeks under steady state conditions)
• Data collection and recording
• Validation of product functions, features and product performance
• Testing for stability, reliability, durability, measuring of components degradation
• Measuring and validating environmental impacts including energy consumption, emission of pollutants etc.
• Generating data to design a large scale or commercial installation (engineering scale up)
• Adapting and improving the technology or process to suit market conditions
• Preparing reports and documentation

4.3 Canadian applicant eligibility requirements:

• The Canadian SME applicant must:
  • be an incorporated, profit oriented small or medium-sized business in Canada
  • have 500 or fewer full time equivalent employees
  • pursue growth and profit by developing and commercializing innovative, technology driven new or improved products, services or processes in Canada
  • have a differentiated and protectable technology with commercial potential in global markets
  • have sufficient working capital (e.g. revenue, investment, etc.) and resources to undertake technology piloting or demonstration and commercialize the results
  • be committed to significant growth through international market expansion
  • have solid go to market strategy, production, supply chain management and post sale service plans and ability to execute the strategies in order to capitalize on potential successful technology piloting or demonstration
• Preference may be given to SME applicants who:
  • have a minimum of 15 full-time equivalent employees
  • have commercialized 1 or more products domestically or internationally
  • have greater than $500,000 CAD in annual revenue
  • have met the technology readiness level (TRL) 7 or greater
  • have prior experience in domestic technology piloting or demonstration

4.4 Foreign corporate partner eligibility requirements

The foreign corporate partner will participate in this collaborative project on a self-funded basis. The ideal foreign corporate partner must:

• have a dominant presence in the targeted geographic market or possess a wide international network and be acknowledged as a leader in the target sector
• have critical pain points or attractive market opportunities
• have a goal of adopting new technologies or assisting the commercialization of the technologies resulting from the project
• provide in-kind contributions or additional financial resources (see section "5. Funding" below)
• work with Canadian SMEs to arrive at a mutually beneficially IP agreement (including having a Non-Disclosure Agreement in place)
• have a defined structure to engage with Canadian SMEs
• have the support from senior management and operational business units (demonstrated via a memorandum of understanding (MOU) or Letter of Intent (LoI))
• have a focus on collaboration (the intent of the project is not company acquisition)

5. Funding

Eligible Canadian SMEs may receive up to 50% reimbursement of the total project costs up to a maximum total funding amount of $300,000 CAD over 6 to 12 months. All selected projects must start after: November 1, 2024.

Through this program, the foreign corporate partner will be participating on a self-funded basis. In addition, they must provide in-kind resources to the Canadian applicants, such as:

• access to unique facilities in real-field-conditions for innovation testing
• use of internal services, expertise, knowledge, data-sets or equipment
• expertise and consulting to integrate SME technologies into its own systems
• regulatory and legal guidance to ensure compliance in their foreign partner country and internationally
• assistance in co-commercialization of product with relevant local business partners

Note: Canadian SME applicants must be eligible for funding as NRC IRAP clients before they can be considered for funding through this call for proposals. For more information on NRC IRAP eligibility and becoming an NRC IRAP client, please contact NRC IRAP at 1‑877‑994‑4727.

Note: Canadian SME applicants may apply to more than one NRC IRAP call for proposals simultaneously. However, NRC IRAP may limit the number of funded projects per applicant. Canadian SME applicants who are applying to more than one opportunity or who have ongoing NRC IRAP projects should speak to their NRC IRAP representative for more information.

6. Application process

The ITPD Program application process has 3 phases:

1. Registration
2. Expression of interest
3. Full project proposal

Step 1: Registration phase

Interested Canadian applicants must register using the Register button at the end of this page. Basic information about the applicant and the organization will be required upon registration.

NRC IRAP will review registrations for this call for proposals and contact applicants if more information is required. Qualifying applicants will proceed to the next phase and be invited to submit an expression of interest form.

Step 2: Expression of interest phase

During this phase, Canadian applicants seeking funding must submit an expression of interest (EOI) form outlining basic information on the applicant and the project idea.

While completing the EOI form, Canadian applicants are encouraged to contact their NRC IRAP representative to discuss their project idea and receive guidance on preparing their submission.

It is recommended that applicants submit the EOI as early as possible. EOIs will be evaluated by the applicant’s NRC IRAP representative and the NRC IRAP International Office. Qualifying applicants will be invited to submit the full project proposal.

Step 3: Full project proposal phase

The full proposal form will request additional information about the applicant, organization, technology, markets, international partner and technology pilot or demonstration opportunities of interest etc. In addition to the full project proposal, Canadian applicants must provide a MOU or LoI with the foreign partner as proof of partnership.

The full project proposal will be evaluated by an NRC IRAP evaluation team. Successful and selected Canadian SMEs will work with their NRC IRAP representative to prepare an NRC IRAP funding proposal and contribution agreement.

7. Contacts

For more information, email the NRC IRAP International Office by at IRAP.International.PARI@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca or Qing Yu, NRC IRAP Clean Technology Program Coordinator at Qing.Yu@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca.

8. Registration

Canadian SME participants must be registered NRC IRAP clients. If not already an NRC IRAP client, Canadian SMEs must contact 1‑877‑994‑4727 to determine if they might be eligible for support through NRC IRAP.

To begin the application process, interested Canadian participants must register for this opportunity by clicking the Register button.

If there is no register button visible below this line, it means the call for proposals has closed. Please contact the NRC IRAP International Office at IRAP.International.PARI@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca for more information.