What does it really take to bring a new technology to market?
Drawing on insights from 80+ innovators, 136 ERA-funded projects, and our ecosystem of stakeholders and partners, discover what drives success and what stands in the way.
What success looks like
Commercialization success is about more than reaching the market. It creates jobs, attracts investment, grows Alberta companies, and delivers measurable environmental benefits.
Jobs
Technologies create high-value employment across Alberta.
Investment
Public investment attracts private capital and builds investor confidence.
Market Growth
Alberta innovations are finding customers at home and around the world.
Environmental Impact
Commercialized technologies reduce emissions while strengthening competitiveness.
What do successful innovators do differently?
What did companies that succeeded learn?
Start with the end in mind
Know your customer before you build.
- Demonstrate value early
- Understand customer needs
- Build partnerships
- Plan for regulation
Reduce risk early
Address uncertainty before it becomes a barrier.
- Secure financing
- Validate performance
- Prepare for scale
- Build market confidence
Focus on what matters most
Invest time where it creates the greatest impact.
- Better planning
- Earlier pilots
- Independent validation
Persevere
Progress belongs to those who keep showing up.
- Commit to the long view
- Learn fast from failure
- Show up on the hard days
- Finish what you start
- Measure progress, not perfection
What accelerates commercialization?
What helps more technologies succeed?
Commercialization doesn’t happen by chance. Across sectors, innovators identified six actions that would have the greatest impact on helping technologies move from successful pilots to widespread adoption.
- Connect innovators with industry
- Define clear commercialization pathways
- Coordinate deployment funding
- Build commercialization skills
- Improve access to testing infrastructure
- Share success stories and lessons
Where Alberta has the biggest opportunities
Where can we improve?
Connect the funding dots
Funding exists but innovators need a smoother path from pilot to deployment.
Make commercialization support easier to find
Programs can’t create impact if innovators don’t know they exist.
Agree on what success looks like
Shared performance targets help technologies move from demonstration to adoption.
Move with the market
Align commercialization with emerging regulations so technologies are ready when demand grows.
Innovation in action
Who is proving what’s possible?
TransAlta Corporation
Enabling Increased Intermittent Green Generation via wind energy storage
RBW Waste Management
RBW HDPE Plastic Recycling
Qube Technologies
Emissions Reductions Through Artificial Intelligence
Eavor
Eavor-Loop Demonstration Project
Canadian Pacific Railway Company
Hydrogen Locomotive Program
Westgen Technologies Inc.
Unlocking EPOD Economic Zero Bleed Pneumatic Instrument Air Retrofit Solution
COMMERCIALIZATION ISN’T A SINGLE MILESTONE—IT’S A JOURNEY.
Alberta innovators consistently point to the same ingredients for success: early customer engagement, strong partnerships, access to validation, regulatory and policy alignment, coordinated funding, and a clear path to market. By strengthening these areas, Alberta can accelerate the commercialization of the next generation of emissions-reducing technologies.
- Idea
- Pilot
- Demonstration
- Commercialization
- Market growth
“Commercialization isn’t a single moment—it’s a journey that requires capital, partnerships, validation and market demand.”
“ERA funding gave us the critical early-stage capital to move from prototype to commercial product. Thanks to ERA, we accelerated our technology readiness and secured our first major customers—years ahead of schedule.”
“With ERA’s support, we engaged early with industry partners and research collaborators, laying the foundation for a Joint Industry Project that will validate and accelerate commercialization.”
Commercialization by the numbers
The survey data provides a snapshot of the economic, environmental, and market outcomes achieved by ERA-funded technologies.
Job creation
4297
Jobs
75%
Oil & gas and electricity
Key insight
Renewable energy, carbon capture, and methane management projects generate the highest number of jobs across ERA’s portfolio.
Commercialization timeline
Average time to reach commercialization by top 8 technology areas
Interactive chart to be added
| Technology area | Years to commercialization |
|---|---|
| In-Situ Recovery | 9.3 |
| Carbon Capture – Point Source | 8.7 |
| Bioenergy & Biofuels | 8.3 |
| Hydrogen | 5.4 |
| Fuel Switching | 5.3 |
| Advanced Materials | 5.0 |
| Methane Management | 4.3 |
| Efficiency Improvements | 4.2 |
Average time to reach commercialization by top 8 industries
Interactive chart to be added
| Industry | Years to commercialization |
|---|---|
| Forest Products | 6.0 |
| Oil & Gas | 5.9 |
| Refining, Chemicals & Fertilizers | 5.3 |
| Cement & Concrete | 5.3 |
| Transport | 4.9 |
| Agriculture | 4.8 |
| Buildings & Construction | 4.5 |
| Electricity | 4.2 |
Key insight
Technologies with larger infrastructure requirements, such as CCUS and in situ recovery, typically take longer to commercialize, while methane technologies and efficiency improvements reach the market much faster.
Revenue
$3.6M
Average annual domestic revenue reported by surveyed companies.
$164M
Oil and gas technologies generated more than the combined total of all other industries surveyed.
Key insight
Methane management and efficiency improvement technologies generated the strongest average revenues among surveyed projects.
Markets
One-third of sales come from international markets.
Distribution of sales jurisdictions
Interactive chart to be added
| Region | Share of sales |
|---|---|
| Alberta | 36.2 |
| Canada (outside Alberta) | 26.3 |
| USA | 25.0 |
| Asia | 3.9 |
| Europe | 3.3 |
| Other | 3.3 |
| Middle East | 2.0 |
Investment
$1.2B
in public investment reported
$1.5B
in private investment reported
Did you know?
Public investment helps reduce commercialization risk and builds confidence among private investors.
The Bigger Picture
Commercialization creates more than new technologies. It creates jobs, attracts investment, builds Alberta companies and brings homegrown innovation to markets around the world.