Building a climate technology company often requires more than developing a working product.

Founders may need scientific validation, industrial partners, manufacturing expertise, patient capital and a commercially realistic way to deploy technology at scale.

The Creative Destruction Lab Climate Stream is designed to help founders navigate these challenges.

CDL Climate supports scalable technologies that could make a significant contribution to protecting the planet and addressing major climate challenges.

Participation is free, and CDL does not take equity.

What Is the CDL Climate Stream?

Creative Destruction Lab is a nonprofit programme founded at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management.

Instead of teaching founders through a standard accelerator curriculum, CDL uses an objectives-based model.

Climate founders meet experienced entrepreneurs, operators, scientists and investors who challenge the company to identify the most important milestones it must achieve.

Founders then work towards those objectives before the next mentor session.

The Climate Stream runs over approximately nine months, with objective-setting sessions taking place between October and June.

Which Climate Technologies Are Relevant?

The programme is designed for scalable, technically differentiated innovations rather than ordinary sustainability consulting businesses.

Potential applicants might work in energy, decarbonisation, advanced materials, batteries, industrial processes, carbon technologies, low-emission transport, circular-economy technologies or other research-driven climate areas.

The central question is whether the technology can produce meaningful climate impact at commercial scale.

A solution that reduces emissions by a small amount for one local organisation may be useful, but CDL typically seeks technologies with the potential to scale across large markets.

Where Is CDL Climate Offered?

The current Climate Stream page identifies CDL programmes in Paris and Vancouver.

The mentor ecosystem at each location differs, so founders should evaluate where their technology and market strategy fit best.

Travel is also relevant because the programme contains in-person objective-setting sessions.

Does CDL Climate Provide Funding?

Participation itself does not include a guaranteed investment.

CDL charges no fee and takes no ownership, which is unusual among major startup accelerators.

Its investor network can nevertheless be extremely valuable.

Mentors include active angel and venture investors, alongside experienced operators. A founder may develop fundraising relationships through the programme, but any resulting investment happens separately from programme admission.

What Does CDL Look for?

CDL is particularly suitable for founders commercialising difficult science or technology.

Strong companies should be able to explain the technical basis of their innovation and provide evidence that it can meaningfully outperform existing alternatives.

A climate application should also quantify impact.

Instead of saying your technology is “sustainable,” explain how it reduces energy consumption, greenhouse-gas emissions, material waste or another relevant metric.

Commercial viability matters just as much as technical impact.

Founders should understand who will buy the technology, what adoption requires and how the company can eventually become financially sustainable.

What Should You Include in Your Application?

Explain the climate problem first.

Then show why your technology can address it at a scale that matters.

Discuss technical development, intellectual property, validation, pilot projects and the scientific expertise of the founding team.

You should also identify obstacles preventing commercialisation.

For hard-tech companies, this may include manufacturing cost, certification, deployment, financing or industrial partnerships.

A clear understanding of those barriers makes it easier for CDL’s mentors to determine whether their experience can help you.

Is the 2026/27 Application Still Open?

No.

CDL’s central application page confirms that general applications for the 2026/27 year closed on July 24, 2026 at 11:59pm ET.

Some stream pages have not yet updated their “applications open” banner, so founders should rely on the central application portal for current status.

The next application cycle has not yet been published.

Visit the Creative Destruction Lab Climate Stream page

Founders planning for the next cycle can use the time now to strengthen technical evidence, quantify climate impact and build a clearer commercialisation roadmap.