Top 9 Sustainability Startups in Canada 2025

Canada has long been known for its beautiful landscapes, rich natural resources and dedication to protecting the environment. Today, that legacy is becoming something even more powerful: a thriving ecosystem of sustainability startups that are changing industries like energy storage, recycling resources, capturing carbon and making things clean. These businesses are not only working to solve environmental problems; they are also creating a new way for the economy to grow that links innovation with responsibility.

As the need to act on climate change grows, Canada’s cleantech sector has been growing thanks to both government support and private investment. The country has become a hotbed for green innovation because it has strong research institutions, access to renewable energy and an ambitious climate framework. In this blog post, we’ll talk about nine of Canada’s most exciting sustainability startups, all of which are working to make the world cleaner and more circular.

Why Sustainability Startups Matter

As climate change gets worse, resources become scarcer and the environment becomes more dangerous, startups that come up with long-lasting solutions are becoming more and more important. Not only do they create economic value, but they also help us rethink how we get, use and recycle materials, cut down on greenhouse gas emissions and move away from fossil fuel dependence. Sustainability startups in Canada can help create good jobs, diversify the economy and support global decarbonisation. Canada has a lot of natural resources, a strong academic and innovation ecosystem and a growing commitment to climate change. More generally, they help make sure that growth isn’t just “business as usual,” but is in line with goals for the environment and the circular economy.

The Sustainability Environment in Canada

Canada has become an important player in the fields of clean technology and critical materials innovation. Nine Canadian companies made the 2025 edition of the Cleantech Group Global Cleantech 100 list, which is a strong sign of the country’s ability to come up with new ideas. 

The government is also actively supporting projects that use clean technology, critical minerals and decarbonisation. These include carbon-capture incentives, investment funds and plans for battery materials. For example, Canada will be second on the Global Cleantech Innovation Index in 2024. What this means is that Canada is really moving towards cleaner energy and industry, but these startups also have to deal with the problems of scaling up, building supply chains and staying competitive with more established companies.

Top 9 Canadian Sustainability Startups

These nine Canadian companies are great examples of the trend towards sustainability and new ideas in start-ups. Each one has a different focus, which shows how broad Canada’s cleantech sector is.

Cyclic Materials

Cyclic Materials is creating a circular supply chain for rare-earth elements (REEs) and other important materials. They are taking magnets and permanent-magnet parts out of old products like electric vehicle motors, wind turbines and electronics.

Recycling is better for the environment and makes the supply chain more resilient than traditional mining, which uses a lot of resources. Cyclic is a great example of a Canadian startup that has gone from lab/pilot to commercial-scale infrastructure.

e‑Zinc

e-Zinc is working on a long-lasting energy storage system based on zinc-air or zinc-metal battery technology. The goal is to offer an alternative to lithium-ion batteries for storing energy on a large scale.

As more renewable energy is made, the need for storage grows, especially for longer periods of time (more than 10 hours). In some cases, zinc is more common and may be cheaper than lithium. This new business shows how Canadian companies are focussing on storage innovation, not just battery chemistry but also new materials and system design.

Enersion

Enersion makes heating and cooling systems using cutting-edge adsorption and heat pump technologies. Their “Energy Cubed” system uses low-grade heat and water as a refrigerant (instead of synthetic ones) to heat, cool and provide hot water in an efficient way.

Heating and cooling use a lot of energy and release a lot of pollution. New ideas in this area often go unnoticed but can have a big effect. Enersion shows how diverse Canadian cleantech is, going beyond batteries and minerals to include HVAC, building systems and process innovation.

Ionomr Innovations

Ionomr makes ion-exchange membranes and advanced polymers for clean energy systems like hydrogen electrolysers, fuel cells, metal recovery and CO₂ conversion. Their membranes don’t use fluorinated materials (PFAS), which makes them last longer and work better. 

As hydrogen and electrolysis get bigger, the materials that make them up (membranes, catalysts) become what makes them valuable. Canadian innovation in these “enabling” materials is important for strategy. Ionomr is a good example of the “deep-tech” side of cleantech, which includes advanced materials, scalable manufacturing and global offtakes.

Mangrove Lithium

Mangrove Lithium created a patented process called “Clear-Li” that turns lithium from hard rock, brine, clay or recycled sources into battery-grade lithium hydroxide or carbonate in a way that is better for the environment (less waste, modular scale). 

As electric vehicles and batteries become more popular, it is very important to make sure that lithium supplies are sustainable. Canada’s role in this supply chain, which includes not only mining but also refining and recycling, is a strategic opportunity.Mangrove demonstrates how Canada’s resource advantage and cleantech innovation can work together to make supply chain nodes that have less of an impact and are worth more.

pH7 Technologies

pH7 uses closed-loop processes to extract important metals and minerals in a way that is good for the environment (minimising waste, recycling flows and emissions). It is on Canada’s “Foresight 50” list and is becoming a bigger player in the extraction and recycling of clean technology.

A lot of new ideas for sustainability are about how to get important materials with less impact on the environment. pH7 is in that area. Canada is more than just raw materials; it’s also about getting them out of the ground and processing them in a smarter and cleaner way.

Summit Nanotech

Summit Nanotech makes a direct-lithium-extraction (DLE) technology called “denaLi™” that filters lithium from brine more effectively, uses less water and produces less chemical waste than older methods. 

The demand for lithium is through the roof and unlocking a long-term supply (especially in brines) is a big deal. It’s smart for tech companies in this field to be based in Canada. Summit shows how Canadian startups are getting involved in the global race for battery materials, not just through mining but also through enabling technologies.

Svante Technologies

Svante makes solid-sorbent carbon-capture and removal technologies (filters/coated sorbents) for industrial emissions like cement, steel, hydrogen, pulp and paper and even direct-air capture.

In areas where it is hardest to get rid of carbon, carbon capture and removal are very important. Svante is building a factory in Canada to meet global demand. Canadian startups can go from making niche prototypes to building factories that can make things on a global scale.

Pani

Pani is a Canadian startup that works on the water infrastructure and water reuse side of sustainability. For example, they work on technologies that use less water, make things work better, treat wastewater or lower the amount of chemicals in water. It has been named one of the 2025 Global Cleantech 100 companies in Canada.

This list doesn’t make a big deal out of it, but its inclusion shows that water technology is part of the clean tech ecosystem in Canada. Sustainability isn’t just about energy or batteries; it’s also about water, material flows and how well infrastructure works.