Innovation

Where Rural Ingenuity Meets Global Energy Innovation

In Southeast Saskatchewan, innovation isn’t confined to labs — it’s lived out every day in the fields, workshops, and communities that fuel Canada’s energy economy. This region has built a reputation as one of Canada’s most agile and collaborative energy corridors, where small-scale experimentation and rapid prototyping translate into real-world results.

Here, innovation isn’t an initiative — it’s instinct.

Why Energy Innovation Thrives in Southeast Saskatchewan

  • A Culture of Practical Innovation
    Innovation here grows from necessity and creativity. When challenges arise, people fix, adapt, and improve — fast. That mindset fuels local advances in carbon capture and storage (CCS), geothermal and clean hydrogen, graphite and lithium extraction, and AI-driven energy management.

  • Access to Research and Talent
    Investors and companies gain direct access to the University of Regina’s Clean Energy Technologies Research Institute (CETRI) — a leader in carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) and clean-tech innovation. The university’s Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science and its Nuclear Systems and Engineering Lab provide cutting-edge capacity for simulation, testing, and workforce training in small modular reactor (SMR) development, renewables, and energy systems optimization.

    Together with Southeast College’s Centre of Sustainable Innovation , these partnerships connect applied research with real industry projects, ensuring ideas move from prototype to production.

  • A Living Lab for Energy Development
    Southeast Saskatchewan’s natural landscape provides the ideal “living laboratory” for field-scale applied research in renewables, carbon storage, and advanced materials.The region’s open terrain, established industrial infrastructure, and strong municipal-First Nation partnerships allow companies to test clean-energy technologies quickly — from pilot hydrogen projects to next-generation energy storage systems.

  • Proven Collaboration Networks
    Long-standing relationships between municipalities, First Nations, industry, and academic institutions create a natural “innovation ecosystem.” Over 70% of regional innovations originate from individuals, cooperatives, and small enterprises rather than large corporations — proof that collaboration fuels scalability.

Innovation Highlights

  • ICED Rural Innovation Conference: The annual conference for applied innovation across energy, agriculture, and technology sectors — drawing participants from Canada and beyond.

  • SETH – The Southeast Techhub: Canada’s first truly rural innovation hub, leading programs in AI, clean energy, and startup incubation.

  • Living Lab Advantage: Rapid field-testing and commercialization pathways for energy solutions.

  • Talent Pipeline: A workforce trained in engineering, power systems, and environmental technology through regional colleges and applied research programs.

Invest Where Innovation Is Built, Not Theorized

Southeast Saskatchewan doesn’t just talk innovation — it builds it. From clean fuels to digital infrastructure powering smart grids, this is where global energy transition technologies find a home to grow.

If you’re looking to develop, test, or scale new energy technologies, Southeast Saskatchewan offers what few regions can: real-world conditions, real partnerships, and real results.

→ Invest where innovation lives. Build your next energy venture in Southeast Saskatchewan.