Canada’s geothermal sector faces a defining challenge: while the country sits atop vast geothermal resources, foreign firms control 96 percent of geothermal intellectual property (IP) filed in Canada, and no Canadian company ranks among the world’s top 100 patent holders.
This brief maps the global IP landscape, diagnoses Canada’s position within it, and makes the case for a coordinated national strategy that treats patents, data, and know-how as critical infrastructure.
Getting this right is essential: IP is the mechanism that turns innovation into prosperity, and without it, the economic returns from Canada’s clean energy transition will continue to flow abroad.
