The impacts of climate change are becoming increasingly evident across our societies. To address this major societal challenge, many jurisdictions around the world have committed to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. Reaching this objective will require significant efforts from researchers, industry, governments, and consumers alike.
The pathways that will enable Québec—and Canada more broadly—to achieve carbon neutrality will rely on a wide range of strategies and technologies. Some solutions already exist, particularly for decarbonizing industrial activities (1). There is no doubt that urgent action is required, as the cost of inaction continues to rise.
Advanced materials lie at the heart of industrial innovation. Québec, like Canada, must invest in the development and commercialization of a new generation of advanced, environmentally responsible materials capable of delivering rapid and effective solutions to the many challenges associated with decarbonizing industrial processes, industries, and ultimately the economy as a whole.
In this context, it is essential to rethink the next generation of advanced materials and the manufacturing processes associated with them, while ensuring that they are designed with carbon neutrality in mind. The development of renewable energy and clean technologies will play a pivotal role. We must also find ways to produce more materials using fewer raw materials and less energy, while promoting reuse and recycling to support the transition toward a circular economy (2). Achieving these ambitions will also require the adoption of innovative processes, particularly those leveraging artificial intelligence to accelerate future developments.
Every day, the fascinating world of advanced materials is helping move Québec toward a greener and more sustainable future. Alongside critical and strategic minerals, advanced materials are a cornerstone of decarbonization, the energy transition, and the growing importance of the circular economy.
Against this backdrop, PRIMA Québec, in collaboration with its partners (3), has launched an initiative to develop a strategic roadmap for the advanced materials sector. This roadmap provides a comprehensive vision of the actions required—and the stakeholders responsible—to strengthen the ecosystem and contribute meaningfully to the decarbonization of the economy.
“Advanced materials are a key pillar of decarbonization and of the growing role that the circular economy plays in our society,” says Luc Pouliot, Chair of the Board of Directors of PRIMA Québec. “At a time when we must meet increasing energy demand while protecting the environment, advanced materials play an essential role in renewable energy, transportation electrification, and clean technologies.”
A Roadmap to Mobilize an Ecosystem
A roadmap is, in essence, a strategic plan that outlines the key steps an industry or organization must take to define its priorities and achieve its objectives. It provides a shared vision, establishes clear goals, and brings together stakeholders around a common initiative spanning the entire value chain and its markets to maximize impact.
Through this initiative—the first of its kind in Canada in the field of advanced materials—PRIMA Québec sought to:
- undertake a major mobilization effort across the advanced materials and associated processes ecosystem, with the decarbonization of the economy as its guiding objective;
- strengthen collaboration between industry and the research community to enhance Québec’s competitive position in global markets; and
- reinforce the positioning of the advanced materials sector as a key pillar in achieving Québec’s decarbonization objectives.
The 2035 Roadmap – Advanced Materials and Associated Processes for the Decarbonization of the Economy (4) aims to help address some of today’s most pressing societal challenges—including the energy transition, the digital transition, and the security of strategic supply chains—through concrete actions aligned with its 2035 vision.
By 2035, Québec will have accelerated the development and commercialization of a new generation of advanced materials and sustainable, competitive manufacturing processes, supported by a committed and collaborative innovation ecosystem.
This roadmap is the result of a broad stakeholder engagement process involving nearly 280 participants through surveys, interviews, workshops, and focus groups. The initiative identified practical and forward-looking solutions to address the challenges associated with the energy transition, strengthening industrial competitiveness, and securing strategic supply chains.
Although several focus groups were organized around high-potential application sectors (5) —including energy, environment, transportation, and electronics—the analysis revealed that these sectors shared many common challenges, such as access to funding and skilled labour. As a result, the roadmap is structured around seven cross-cutting strategic priorities, each supported by specific objectives and concrete actions.
Increasing the circularity of advanced materials, investing in research and development, strengthening strategic partnerships among research institutions, industry, and government, supporting startups, fostering the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and developing the next generation of talent are all essential priorities for turning the ecosystem’s vision into reality.
The final strategic priority—modernizing public procurement and regulatory frameworks—is presented as a series of recommendations that emerged from the consultation process.
The roadmap is not a static document; it is intended to evolve over time as the advanced materials sector progresses and new opportunities and priorities emerge.
The recently launched Ambition 2035 platform will enable stakeholders to track the progress of the various actions being led by the many organizations and partners identified throughout the roadmap.
Plastics, Composite Materials, Moulds and Tooling: Pathways to Consider
The journey to 2035 is filled with opportunities for business, research, and innovation. The resilience, creativity, and commitment of the scientific and industrial communities—working in partnership with governments—will be the driving forces behind this transformation. Pushing the boundaries of materials science, optimizing manufacturing processes, and integrating the principles of the circular economy and life cycle assessment (LCA) into every initiative will be essential.
Several avenues can be explored to help the plastics industry contribute to decarbonization objectives, recognizing that there are multiple pathways to achieving carbon neutrality and that each type of plastic has its own carbon footprint.
- Improve the energy and material efficiency of manufacturing processes. This may involve modernizing production equipment, implementing waste heat recovery systems, or improving energy productivity—the ability to produce more using the same amount of energy. Additive manufacturing (3D printing) can also help reduce material waste in certain applications.
- Embrace the circular economy through strategies such as recycling, recovery, and valorization. These approaches can increase the use of recycled plastics in manufacturing while improving Québec’s circularity performance. Eco-design, particularly in the packaging sector, is another important strategy, integrating environmental considerations from the earliest stages of product development.
- Invest in innovation with sustainability as a guiding principle throughout the supply chain. Reducing the use of virgin raw materials, promoting product reuse and recycling, and developing plastics that are easier to recycle are all promising avenues for reducing environmental impacts.
- Collaborate with external organizations that can support decarbonization initiatives. The Roadmap identifies a range of organizations and resources available to help companies implement their decarbonization strategies.
The transition toward 2035 is already underway—and your organization can play an active role in shaping it.
By Marie-Pierre Ippersiel, Special Contributor
Marie-Pierre Ippersiel is President and Chief Executive Officer of PRIMA Québec (mp.ippersiel@prima.ca).
This article has not undergone thorough linguistic review. It may therefore contain some spelling and syntax errors. Rest assured that the nature of the content and information presented is not affected.
[1] https://www.prima.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/PRIMA-24-102_Guide_Decarbonation_V7.pdf
[2] Québec Net Positif (2024). PME en transition. Réalités manufacturières – vers une économie sobre en carbone, rapport final. Consultation du rapport sur le site : https://www.quebecnetpositif.ca/pmeentransition
[3] Ministère de l’Économie, de l’Innovation et de l’Énergie (MEIE), Innovation, Sciences et Développement économique Canada et Développement Économique Canada (DEC). À ces partenaires s’ajoute un comité de pilotage qui a suivi l’ensemble de la démarche entre janvier et août 2024. Celui-ci était composé d’industriels, de chercheurs, de financiers et d’étudiants.
[4] https://www.prima.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/2024-12-18_Feuille-de-route-2035.pdf
[5] En raison des perspectives de marché, de la masse critique d’entreprises au Québec, de leur propension à innovation et de leur apport à la décarbonation.
