For over a century, British Columbia—and much of Canada—built prosperity on abundant clean electricity.
Hydroelectric power in BC, Manitoba, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Quebec. Nuclear energy in Ontario and New Brunswick. And now, renewables across the Prairies.
Today, about 98 per cent of BC’s electricity and over 80 per cent of the country’s power comes from clean sources.
That’s a big advantage.
It attracts high-quality jobs. It means cleaner air, land, and water—and lower greenhouse gas emissions. And it’s a key reason why Canada’s electricity prices are among the lowest in the OECD.
But rapidly rising demand for power puts that advantage at risk.
Today, only about 20 per cent of Canada’s energy use comes from electricity. That’s changing as we gradually shift away from fossil fuels to power everything from our cars to our homes.
At the same time, new nation-building projects and the rapid adoption of AI come with steep electricity needs.
The result? We’ll require two to three times more electricity by 2050.
Governments of all political stripes have recognized this reality and responded.
The Progressive Conservative government in Ontario launched the largest-ever call for power in the province’s history last year. BC’s New Democratic government similarly launched a call last year and this year that will collectively generate up to $10 billion in private investment.
Leaders across party lines know clean power underpins Canada’s future. As Premier David Eby put it: “BC will be the economic engine of Canada’s new economy, and that engine will be powered by abundant clean electricity.”
This is a smart course of action, but it’s easier said than done.
Hydroelectric and nuclear offer steady power but require hefty upfront capital. Getting taxpayer backing for more, particularly in our constrained fiscal environment, will be an uphill battle.
Renewables are now the lowest-cost form of electricity generation in much of the world, but they’re intermittent—only generating power when the sun shines and the wind blows.
And relying on US energy imports is no longer wise. Not only are American grids dirtier, but the ongoing trade war has reinforced the need to build a more resilient and self-sufficient Canadian economy.
The good news is that there is a solution that gets to the heart of all these challenges: energy storage.
By storing energy for later use, these systems can dispatch power in real-time when generation falls short, allowing inexpensive renewable electricity to be utilized at all times while reducing the need for imports.
Although energy storage is still in its nascency, it also often comes with a price tag that is already on par with traditional baseload sources—and it’s only getting cheaper.
And in areas where the grid is strained or renewables are growing fast, energy storage could even pay for itself by deferring costly grid upgrades.
Recognizing these benefits, Canada is already deploying this technology.
Earlier this year, the 250MW Oneida project—one of the world’s largest battery storage facilities—came online, more than doubling Ontario’s storage capacity.
That’s progress. But Canada can go further. We should be at the forefront of creating the next wave of energy storage technology—and we’re starting to see what that leadership looks like.
Electric vehicles (EVs) are increasingly becoming the norm on our roads. EVs present both a challenge and an opportunity.
The challenge: EV charging requires expensive infrastructure upgrades and it’s slower than filling up a gas vehicle. Foreseeson Technology is tackling this by combining battery storage and chargers into one system, speeding up charging without costly grid investments.
The opportunity: EVs are mobile batteries that will soon be parked in front of millions of Canadian homes and businesses. Three BC-based companies are stepping up to take advantage: Moment Energy is repurposing used EV batteries to create new energy storage systems; FUTURi Power is leveraging operational EV batteries as flexible, short-term energy storage to provide greater grid stability; and Fuse Power is piloting electric school buses that power the grid at peak times and carry students the rest of the day.
Canada’s geography offers even more possibilities. With long, pristine coastlines, we can pioneer low-cost, long-duration batteries that use saltwater instead of limited critical minerals. That’s exactly what Aqua-Cell Energy is working on.
Meanwhile, in an unassuming building in East Vancouver, Invinity Energy Systems is building modular utility-scale batteries from abundant vanadium instead of scarce lithium—and is already deploying them overseas in Spain.
Taken together, these innovations show that energy storage isn’t just playing a key role in maintaining Canada’s clean electricity advantage. It can power the next generation of Canadian growth—keeping our economy strong, energy affordable, and future secure.
Canada built its prosperity on clean electricity. With smart investments in energy storage, we can build the foundation of continued prosperity for decades to come.
Sarah Goodman is the President and CEO of NorthX Climate Tech. NorthX is a catalyst for climate action, funding the climate hard tech solutions that transform industries and build lasting prosperity. In September, NorthX announced $1.6M in investment in three Canadian companies advancing energy storage and grid solutions to support BC’s decarbonization and electrification goals.
