ESSOR Volet 3 — Green Technology and Environmental Footprint Reduction
Compared with the 242 other application forms we have read
- Scored mainly on environmental outcome. Only 11 lead with that.
- Only 3 written answers, against a median of 5.
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Eligibility & Details
What this program funds and who can apply
Program Description
Quebec loan and loan guarantee program for businesses investing in clean technologies, renewable energy, green hydrogen, or circular-economy projects that significantly reduce their environmental footprint. Minimum $100,000 in eligible project expenses; government aid capped at 50% of project cost (75% for renewable energy/green hydrogen). Program sunsets March 31, 2027.
Eligibility Requirements
- For-profit enterprise or social economy enterprise registered in Quebec
- Must conduct or commit to conducting business activities in Quebec within 12 months of project authorization
- Project must have minimum $100,000 in eligible expenses; maximum aid is $10M of budgetary impact per project
- Primary objective must be significant reduction of environmental footprint via clean tech, renewable energy, or green hydrogen
- A minimum private contribution equal to at least 20% of total project cost is required, because combined public aid cannot fund 100% of eligible expenses. For the cumulation calculation only, financing from BDC, Farm Credit Canada (FAC) and La Financière agricole du Québec (FADQ) counts as a PRIVATE contribution
- Businesses with 25 or more employees in Quebec for at least 6 months must be compliant with the francisation process under the Charter of the French Language: hold an OQLF francisation certificate or, failing that, a valid attestation issued by the Office québécois de la langue française, and must not appear on the OQLF's list of businesses that are non-compliant with the francisation process (the threshold was 50 employees before June 1, 2025)
- Ineligible if listed, provisionally or permanently, on the Registre des entreprises non admissibles aux contrats publics (RENA) — this extends to the project's subcontractors
- Ineligible if, in the two years preceding the application, the business defaulted on its obligations after being formally put on notice in connection with earlier financial aid from a Quebec government department or agency
- Ineligible if the applicant is a Crown corporation or a company controlled directly or indirectly by a municipal, provincial or federal government
- Ineligible if under the protection of the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act or the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act
- Ineligible if the business operates in a prohibited domain: production or distribution of weapons; exploration, extraction, drilling, production or refining of fossil fuels such as oil and thermal coal (except activities aimed at a transition to a low-carbon economy); gambling and games of chance; violent games or combat sports; sexual exploitation; or the production, sale and services related to the consumption of tobacco or drugs
- A project that qualifies under ESSOR volet 2 cannot claim volet 3
- Working capital eligible up to 20% of total eligible costs under certain conditions
- Project must start within 6 months of authorization; must complete within 5 years
- Must not be in an excluded sector: agriculture (except greenhouse/forestry/packaging), mining, real estate, construction (except projects aimed at reducing the environmental footprint of their activities), utilities, healthcare, education, finance/insurance, hospitality (except tourism-linked accommodation), telecommunications, broadcasting, arts/entertainment, management of companies and enterprises, other services (except public administration), public administration
Quick Assessment
Funding Details
- Amount
- Loan or loan guarantee (up to 70% of net loss coverage); non-repayable contribution possible in exceptional cases; minimum $100,000 in eligible expenses; maximum aid of $10M of budgetary impact per project
- Type
- Forgivable Loan
- Level
- Provincial
- Financing share
- Up to 50% of eligible costs
- Deadline
- Ongoing until March 31, 2027
Program Scorecard
Competition, effort, and approval at a glance
Difficult — significant preparation needed
Below average competition
Complex — detailed documentation needed
How to qualify
Insider tips, common pitfalls, and what successful applicants look like
Insider TipContact an Investissement Québec account manager or call 1-844-474-6367 before applying to validate project scope and expected documentation.
Rejection Pitfalls 11
- Project is in an excluded sector (agriculture mainstream, mining, construction other than footprint-reduction projects, real estate, hospitality, broadcasting, management of companies and enterprises, other services)
Success Profile
Evaluation Criteria
How Investissement Québec judges your application
What the reviewer scores, what gets applications rejected, and what to write.
Distilled from 4 source documents, condensed into one brief. Sources as of 2026-09-07.
4 sources
- Cadre normatif du programme ESSOR 2025-2027 cdn-contenu.quebec.ca
- ESSOR — Volet 3 investquebec.com
- Programme ESSOR investquebec.com
- Publications du ministère de l’Économie, de l’Innovation et de… quebec.ca
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What Investissement Québec favours
Show and quantify the environmental gain with result indicators◦
“L’entreprise doit démontrer et quantifier le gain environnemental généré et présenter les paramètres mesurés à l’aide d’indicateurs de résultats”
The form
Project and financing
- 1Description détaillée du projet et montage financierwritten answer
La description détaillée du projet et le montage financier
- 2États financierstable
- 3Offres de service et ententes de partenariatlist
Environmental demonstration
- 4Description des travaux et quantification du gain environnementalwritten answer
La description détaillée des travaux de réduction de l’empreinte environnementale de l’entreprise par l’acquisition ou l’implantation de technologies propres ou d’un service environnemental. L’entreprise doit démontrer et quantifier le gain environnemental généré et présenter les paramètres mesurés à l’aide d’indicateurs de résultats
- 5Objet premier de la technologie proprewritten answer
Compliance
- 6Conformité aux exigences liées à la francisationshort answer
- 7Déclaration de conformité avec le Programme d’accès à l’égalité en emploishort answer
Investissement Québec states no length limits for these answers.
Judged against
- 1
Does the project clear the programme's rules?
Show them Show at least 100 000 $ in eligible costs, a for-profit or social-economy structure, and that this is not an environmental compliance upgrade.◦
In the funder’s words · 1
- Admissibility under the programme parameters
- 2
How much environmental gain, measured how?
What to show, and the funder’s 1 criterion behind it in Premium
- 3
Is footprint reduction the technology's main point?
What to show, and the funder’s 1 criterion behind it in Premium
- 4
Can the business fund and run the project?
What to show them in Premium
2 questions the reviewer answers about you, in Premium.
Where applicants fail
“Aucun dépassement de coût des demandes approuvées ne sera accepté aux fins d’une aide financière supplémentaire.”
Premium · the rest of this brief
See all 4 rules that can reject you and every criterion you are judged on. Then we draft your application for you.
2 more rules that can reject you · 2 more criteria · 5 more prompts
Do you pass?
Each one can rule you out. Tick the ones you meet.
Your business
For-profit or social-economy business
Sont admissibles au programme les entreprises à but lucratif légalement constituées ainsi que les entreprises d’économie sociale au sens de la Loi sur l’économie sociale (RLRQ, chapitre E-1.1.1).
The project
Quebec project, $100 000+ eligible costs
Est admissible tout projet d’investissement comportant au moins 100 000 $ de dépenses admissibles et visant une réduction significative20 de l’empreinte environnementale d’une entreprise déjà établie au Québec, sans égard à la productivité21:
Documents to attach
Ticks are kept on this device.
The money
Maximum assistance rateUp to 25% of eligible costs
Le taux d’aide exprimé en impact budgétaire des aides accordées doit représenter au maximum 25 % des dépenses admissibles.
Combined government aid cap50% of total; 75% renewables
L’aide financière gouvernementale combinée ne pourra excéder 50 % du coût total du projet; ce taux est toutefois de 75 % pour les projets d’énergies renouvelables ou d’hydrogène vert.
Your shareMaximum 25% of eligible costs
Le taux d’aide exprimé en impact budgétaire des aides accordées doit représenter au maximum 25 % des dépenses admissibles.
StackingCombined aid capped at 50%; 75% renewables
L’aide financière gouvernementale combinée ne pourra excéder 50 % du coût total du projet; ce taux est toutefois de 75 % pour les projets d’énergies renouvelables ou d’hydrogène vert.
Costs before approvalCosts before dossier filing excluded
les dépenses effectuées avant la date de dépôt du dossier, y compris les dépenses pour lesquelles l’organisme ou l’entreprise a pris des engagements contractuels
What it pays for · 1
- les dépenses d’immobilisation capitalisables directement liées à la réalisation du projet
What it does not pay for · 4
- les dépenses effectuées avant la date de dépôt du dossier, y compris les dépenses pour lesquelles l’organisme ou l’entreprise a pris des engagements contractuels
- les dépenses d’amortissement
- les dépenses internes de l’entreprise
- les taxes de vente
From application to money
- Meet your account directorMeet your account director
- Send the project dossierSend dossier, reviewed continuously
- Sign the funding agreementSign the funding agreement
- Start within six monthsStart within six months of award
- Send the result sheetSend result sheet at project end
In the funder’s words · 5
- Meet your account director
- Contact Investissement Québec to be assigned an account director and confirm fit before the dossier is analysed.
- Send the project dossier
- Provide the requested project, financial and environmental-gain documents to your account director. (Pour tous les projets, l’analyse est effectuée sur une base continue)
- Sign the funding agreement
- Toute aide financière accordée doit faire l’objet d’une convention d’aide financière qui précisera les obligations de chacune des parties ainsi que les conditions de versement de l’aide financière.
- Start within six months
- Le projet pour lequel une aide financière est accordée doit débuter au plus tard six mois après son autorisation.
- Send the result sheet
- l’entreprise devra remplir et transmettre à Investissement Québec une courte fiche d’évaluation des résultats à la fin du projet.
Quoted lines are word for word from the source documents; lines marked ◦ are our reading of them.
Everything you need to secure ESSOR Volet 3 — Green Technology and Envir...
Not a marketing summary. The actual checklist, intel, and stack strategy reviewers look for.
- 11 rejection pitfalls reviewers flag — so you catch them first
- 7-document checklist with what each reviewer is actually checking
- Your Application Game Plan — the print-ready PDF the preview below describes
- 6-step application timeline with prep hours per step
- Insider tip from program officers on what separates winners
- 4-program stacking strategy to combine with compatible funding
- Success profile + evaluation criteria — exactly what lenders look for
Application Playbook
Step-by-step process, required documents, and expenses
Application Steps
Required Documents 7
Eligible Expenses 8
Ineligible Expenses 7
Deadline Notes
Ineligible Organizations
- 5 more application steps
- 5 more required documents
- 8 eligible expenses
- 7 ineligible expenses
- Deadline notes
- Ineligible organizations
Funding Stack Strategy
Compatible programs, clawback risk, and combined funding potential
Compatible Programs
Clawback Risk
Medium RiskHow ESSOR Volet 3 — Green Technology and Envir... Compares
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Frequently Asked Questions
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