Ontario Clean Technology Grants & Tax Credits
Ontario funds clean technology through three separate institutions, not one: OVIN for EV and mobility R&D, IESO's Save on Energy programs for large-scale efficiency, and Invest Ontario for critical-minerals capital, layered under the same federal Clean Economy tax credits every province shares. This is the plain-English map of the 2026 programs, who actually qualifies, and how an Ontario business reaches them.
See the top programs →Ontario funds clean technology through three different lanes, not one. The Ontario Vehicle Innovation Network (OVIN) funds R&D for electric and connected-vehicle technology, up to $1 million for commercialization. The Independent Electricity System Operator's XLerate program pays up to $15 million for large-scale industrial energy-efficiency projects on a pay-for-performance basis. Invest Ontario negotiates direct capital support for critical-minerals processing through its $500-million fund. And on top of all three, five federal Clean Economy investment tax credits, refundable from 15% to 60%, apply to clean technology, manufacturing, carbon capture, hydrogen, and clean electricity investments regardless of province. Which lane fits depends almost entirely on whether your project is developing new technology, ready to deploy it at scale, or already spending capital on qualifying equipment.
Why Ontario's cleantech funding spans three lanes
Ontario doesn't have one dominant cleantech funder the way Alberta has Emissions Reduction Alberta or Quebec has Investissement Québec. Instead, funding is split across three separate institutions built for three different jobs: the Ontario Vehicle Innovation Network (OVIN), delivered through the Ontario Centre of Innovation, which funds R&D for electric and connected-vehicle technology; the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO), which runs Save on Energy's pay-for-performance incentives for large-scale energy efficiency; and Invest Ontario, which negotiates direct capital support for strategic manufacturing and critical-minerals projects. On top of all three sit the same five federal Clean Economy tax credits available to any taxable Canadian corporation, regardless of province.
The province's industrial geography shapes which lane fits a given company. Windsor-Essex is Ontario's EV and battery-manufacturing corridor and OVIN's primary constituency. Hamilton's steel industry and the Sarnia petrochemical cluster are the province's main candidates for the federal Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage tax credit. Waterloo Region, anchored by Communitech and the University of Waterloo, is Ontario's deepest cleantech R&D cluster outside Toronto. And Northern Ontario, home to the Ring of Fire and Sudbury's nickel and cobalt operations, is where the province's two critical-minerals programs, the Critical Minerals Innovation Fund and the Critical Minerals Processing Fund, concentrate their support.
If your project is deploying proven clean technology at scale, capital credits and Invest Ontario's negotiated support are your lane. If you're still validating a technology, NRC IRAP, OVIN's Stream 1, and the Critical Minerals Innovation Fund fund that earlier stage instead.
The top Ontario cleantech programs in 2026
These are the programs an Ontario business is most likely to use to fund a clean technology project: the province's own institutions first, then the federal tax credits available to any taxable Canadian corporation, then the regional and early-stage funding that rounds out the stack. Amounts and rates below are drawn from official program pages, always confirm the current terms with the delivering agency before you build a plan around them.
| Program | What it gives | Amount | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| OVIN R&D Partnership Fund (Ontario Centre of Innovation) | R&D co-investment | Up to $1M | EV, connected-vehicle, and mobility technology R&D |
| IESO: XLerate Program (Save on Energy) | Pay-for-performance incentive | Up to $15M | Large-scale industrial or institutional energy efficiency |
| Critical Minerals Processing Fund (CMPF) (Invest Ontario) | Negotiated capital support | $500M pool | Critical-minerals processing and refining facilities |
| Critical Minerals Innovation Fund (CMIF) (Ontario Ministry of Energy and Mines) | Non-repayable grant | Up to $500K | Critical-minerals R&D and commercialization |
| NOHFC: INVEST North Innovation Stream (Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation) | Non-repayable contribution | Up to $2M | Northern Ontario cleantech R&D and commercialization |
| FedDev Ontario: Business Scale-up and Productivity (FedDev Ontario) | Interest-free repayable contribution | $125K to $10M | Southern Ontario cleantech manufacturers scaling production |
| NRC IRAP Clean Technology Program (National Research Council Canada) | R&D and advisory funding | $100K to $500K+ | SMEs developing or commercializing clean technology |
| Clean Technology Investment Tax Credit (Canada Revenue Agency) | Refundable tax credit | Up to 30% | Solar, storage, heat pumps, and other clean-energy capex |
| Clean Technology Manufacturing ITC (Canada Revenue Agency) | Refundable tax credit | Up to 30% | Equipment manufacturing clean tech or processing critical minerals |
| Carbon Capture, Utilization & Storage ITC (Canada Revenue Agency) | Refundable tax credit | 37.5 to 60% | Capture, transport, storage, and use equipment |
| Clean Hydrogen Investment Tax Credit (Canada Revenue Agency) | Refundable tax credit | 15 to 40% | Hydrogen production by electrolysis, reforming with CCUS, or pyrolysis |
| Clean Electricity Investment Tax Credit (CRA / NRCan) | Refundable tax credit | 15% | Clean electricity generation, storage, and transmission capital |
OVIN, IESO, and Invest Ontario: the province's own cleantech engines
OVIN is the most Ontario-specific route
The Ontario Vehicle Innovation Network, delivered through the Ontario Centre of Innovation, co-invests in Ontario SMEs developing next-generation automotive and mobility technology: EVs, connected and autonomous vehicles, charging, and semiconductors. Stream 1 covers up to $100,000 for proof-of-concept work at a 50% co-investment; Stream 2 covers up to $1 million for commercialization, with OVIN contributing up to a third of eligible costs and a 2:1 private-to-public matching requirement. Your project needs to demonstrate Ontario economic benefit, which puts Windsor-Essex, the province's EV and battery-manufacturing corridor, at the centre of OVIN's activity.
IESO's XLerate program pays for verified results, not applications
Launched in November 2025, XLerate is a pay-for-performance incentive from Ontario's Independent Electricity System Operator, delivered through Save on Energy. It pays up to $300 per MWh of verified electricity savings, or $450/MWh in grid-constrained areas, covering up to 75% of eligible project costs to a maximum of $15 million per project. Your project needs to deliver a minimum of 600 MWh per year in anticipated savings, and you have to apply before entering any binding purchase commitment for equipment, so this is a program to bring in early, not after you've already signed a vendor contract.
Invest Ontario negotiates capital, it doesn't run a competition
The Ontario Critical Minerals Processing Fund is a $500-million provincial pool, launched by Invest Ontario in December 2025, for businesses building, expanding, or modernizing facilities that process or refine critical minerals used in EV batteries, defence, aerospace, and advanced manufacturing supply chains. It isn't a traditional grant application: businesses engage Invest Ontario directly to structure a tailored support package, and large strategic projects can take six to eighteen months from initial engagement to a funding agreement. Foreign-owned companies are eligible if the project is based in Ontario and creates Ontario jobs.
The federal Clean Economy tax credits
Ontario's manufacturing and automotive base means its cleantech businesses draw on the federal Clean Economy investment tax credits as heavily as any province. Unlike OVIN or IESO's competitive or performance-based funding, these are refundable credits: you incur eligible capital costs, then claim the credit with your corporate tax return. There's no application to win, and for most of them, no deadline beyond the program's multi-year window.
Clean Technology ITC
Up to 30% refundable, no sector restriction. Covers solar PV, energy storage, heat pumps, and non-road zero-emission vehicles.
Clean Tech Manufacturing ITC
Up to 30% refundable for equipment that manufactures clean-tech products or processes critical minerals, directly relevant to Ontario's battery supply chain.
CCUS ITC
37.5% to 60% refundable (60% for direct air capture), most relevant to Hamilton's steel producers and the Sarnia petrochemical cluster.
Clean Hydrogen ITC
15% to 40% refundable, depending on the carbon intensity of your hydrogen production pathway.
The Clean Technology ITC (30%) is the most broadly useful credit for an Ontario business investing in clean energy equipment, no sector restriction, no competition. For critical-minerals processors and EV supply-chain manufacturers specifically, the Clean Technology Manufacturing ITC and Invest Ontario's negotiated capital can often apply to the same project, confirm the eligible-cost boundaries with the CRA and Invest Ontario before assuming a combined rate. Ontario also has a fifth credit, the Clean Electricity ITC (15% refundable, enacted March 2026), aimed mainly at utility-scale generation, storage, and transmission projects.
Regional and early-stage funding: FedDev Ontario, NOHFC, and NRC IRAP
OVIN, IESO, and Invest Ontario's flagship programs assume your technology already works or your project is ready for capital. If you're a Southern Ontario manufacturer scaling up, a Northern Ontario company building a critical-minerals R&D project, or a company still validating a technology before commercial deployment, three other programs fund that work instead.
A workable sequence for an Ontario company working in critical minerals: use the Ontario Critical Minerals Innovation Fund (up to $500,000, 50% of eligible costs) to fund R&D, prototyping, testing, and IP protection through the Transfer Payment Ontario portal. Northern Ontario companies can pair this with NOHFC's INVEST North Innovation Stream (up to $2 million, uniquely allowed to stack with other government funding up to 75% of eligible costs), which funds applied R&D and commercialization specifically in the north. Once a technology or facility is ready to build at commercial scale, Invest Ontario's Critical Minerals Processing Fund is the capital-stage program, a negotiated engagement rather than a competitive application, backed by its $500-million pool.
Federally, NRC IRAP's Clean Technology Program, established in February 2025, took over funding that Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC) used to provide before it was wound down. It funds Canadian SMEs with 500 or fewer employees that already have a validated proof of concept, typically $100,000 to $500,000 through an assigned Industrial Technology Advisor, though the program is in transition toward the new Canada Innovation Corporation by fiscal year 2026-27, so confirm current availability before you count on it. Southern Ontario manufacturers scaling cleantech production can also draw on FedDev Ontario's Business Scale-up and Productivity program, $125,000 to $10 million in interest-free repayable contributions, provided you can match at least 50% of eligible project costs.
The Ontario cleantech funding journey: develop, deploy, claim
Most Ontario cleantech projects move through the same three stages. Matching the right program to your stage is what separates a funded project from a stalled application.
NRC IRAP, OVIN's Stream 1, and the Critical Minerals Innovation Fund fund R&D, prototyping, and testing before your technology or facility is ready for commercial deployment.
IESO's XLerate program, NOHFC, FedDev Ontario's Business Scale-up and Productivity program, and OVIN's Stream 2 fund demonstration and deployment once your technology is proven and ready to build.
The federal Clean Economy tax credits, Clean Technology, Manufacturing, CCUS, Hydrogen, and Electricity ITCs, apply once you're building at commercial scale, claimed directly on your tax return. Invest Ontario's negotiated capital operates at the same stage for critical-minerals processing.
What Ontario cleantech funding actually covers
Who qualifies
Eligibility varies by program, but Ontario cleantech funding shares a common core. You generally qualify if:
- Your business or project is based and operating in Ontario. OVIN, IESO's XLerate program, NOHFC, and the Ontario provincial funds all require this.
- You're a taxable Canadian corporation for the federal tax credits, or a private-sector business incorporated in Ontario for the provincial R&D and capital programs.
- Your technology readiness matches the lane: NRC IRAP requires a validated proof of concept, not a pre-concept idea; OVIN funds work at technology readiness level 3 through 9; and IESO's XLerate program and Invest Ontario's capital funds require commercially available, proven technology.
- You can contribute matching funds. OVIN requires a 2:1 private-to-public match, the Critical Minerals Innovation Fund covers 50% of eligible costs, and FedDev Ontario's Business Scale-up program requires you to match at least 50%.
The province's own programs add their own gates: OVIN requires your project to demonstrate Ontario economic benefit; IESO's XLerate program requires a minimum of 600 MWh per year in verified electricity savings; and the Critical Minerals Innovation Fund allows only one project per applicant per intake round and bars concurrent funding from other Ontario government programs on the same project.
How to apply
There is no single cleantech portal in Ontario, each program is submitted to the institution that delivers it. The path that works for most businesses:
- Identify your funding lane. Development-stage R&D (NRC IRAP, OVIN, the Critical Minerals Innovation Fund), deployment-stage capital (IESO XLerate, Invest Ontario, FedDev Ontario), or a tax credit claimed at year-end: each suits a different project stage.
- Confirm your Ontario footprint. Provincial programs need the project or business to be based and operating in Ontario, and OVIN specifically requires demonstrated Ontario economic benefit.
- Assemble your cost case. Vendor quotes, engineering estimates, and confirmation of your matching-fund contribution. Most grants expect all three.
- Apply directly to the delivering agency. The Ontario Centre of Innovation for OVIN, IESO's Save on Energy portal for XLerate, Invest Ontario directly for critical-minerals capital, or the Transfer Payment Ontario portal for CMIF.
- Register early for tax credits that require it. The federal CCUS Investment Tax Credit needs a project plan registered with the CRA before major capital spending; the others are claimed directly on your T2 return.
- Track your intake window. The Critical Minerals Innovation Fund and Invest Ontario's programs run on periodic or rolling cycles rather than a fixed yearly deadline. Apply as early as you can, and for IESO's XLerate program, apply before you sign any equipment purchase commitment.
What's changed in 2026
Two major Ontario programs launched within weeks of each other. IESO's XLerate program launched in November 2025 as a new pay-for-performance incentive for large-scale industrial and institutional energy efficiency, and Invest Ontario's $500-million Critical Minerals Processing Fund launched in December 2025 to attract investment in critical-minerals processing, refining, and recovery. Together they give Ontario cleantech companies two new, well-funded deployment-stage options that didn't exist a year ago.
A fifth Clean Economy tax credit arrived. The Clean Electricity Investment Tax Credit was enacted March 26, 2026 through Bill C-15, a 15% refundable credit on clean electricity generation, storage, and transmission capital, applied retroactively to property placed in service from April 16, 2024.
The CCUS tax credit got bigger and broader. Budget 2025 extended the CCUS ITC's full rates by five years, through 2035, a meaningful change for Ontario's steel and petrochemical manufacturers weighing multi-year capital plans.
Clean hydrogen and clean-tech manufacturing credits both widened. Budget 2025 added methane pyrolysis as an eligible Clean Hydrogen ITC production pathway and expanded the Clean Technology Manufacturing ITC's critical-minerals list to include antimony, indium, gallium, germanium, and scandium, directly relevant to Ontario's battery and EV supply chain.
NRC IRAP's clean technology program is mid-transition. Established in February 2025 to take over funding SDTC used to provide, it's moving toward the new Canada Innovation Corporation by fiscal year 2026-27, which may affect how it's delivered. Confirm current status with an Industrial Technology Advisor before you count on it for project timelines.
The Critical Minerals Innovation Fund's 2026 intake is open now. After a period between intakes, the fund reopened with applications accepted June 30 through August 25, 2026.
Sources: Independent Electricity System Operator; Invest Ontario; Canada Revenue Agency; Department of Finance Canada (Budget 2025, Spring 2026 Economic Update); National Research Council Canada; Ontario Ministry of Energy and Mines.FAQ
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