Embassy of Iceland Canada

Fantastic to see IceWind testing its innovative, dual-use wind turbine technology here in Canada. Congratulations Stephen Drake, Ph.D., Sæþór Ásgeirsson, and the rest of the IceWind team. Onwards and windward!

This project has the potential to greatly expand access to transformative #geothermal energy in Canada and beyond. We are supporting the Krafla Magma Testbed (KMT) team with stakeholder outreach in this country, so should your institution have an interest in getting involved, do not hesitate to reach out. https://lnkd.in/gp5N-s5H

This week Iceland's trade representative in Canada, Per Unheim, had the pleasure of once again attending the 2024 NL Health Services Health Innovation Summit in St. John's, NL. He was there alongside Arna Harðardóttir, CEO of Helix - Iceland’s market leader in EMR systems - and Steindór Ellertsson, CEO of Careflux, an Icelandic start-up using large language models to optimize patient-physician communications. Both companies have been participating in our Canadian healthcare market access program, a joint initiative supported by Business Iceland and the NLHS. We are optimistic that this event will only serve as the beginning of Helix and Careflux's engagement in this province and Canada more generallly, following the path being forged by Prescriby, RetinaRisk, and Kerecis in recent years. Thank you to NLHS for another great conference. Moreover, thank you to Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, Minister Andrew Parsons, Bounce, and techNL for the ongoing support and cooperation around reducing costs, improving patient outcomes, and creating jobs in both Canada and Iceland through technological innovation.

Last week took me to the City of Iqaluit, Nunavut to participate in the 2024 Nunavut Tradeshow and Conference organized by the Baffin Regional Chamber of Commerce, its largest show yet. In my first visit to the territory I learned so much about Nunavut's social and economic development priorities and the opportunities that exist for more collaboration with Icelandic businesses and institutions (think fisheries, renewable energy and district heating, tourism, shipping/cargo, health services & technology, financial services, green mining, and more). And as a Canadian, the visit provided a long-awaited opportunity to better understand my own country north of 60. It really delivered. As indicated by the large business delegation from Greenland at the conference, already helping to realize this north-to-north potential is Air Greenland's new direct flight between Iqaluit and Nuuk, the latter only a short hop from Keflavík Airport (KEF). This flight has cut +30 hours off of previous travel times between Nuuk and Iqaluit. Before flying south I was also fortunate enough to find time to take in some of Nunavut's natural beauty and culture thanks to local friends and colleagues. I can only recommend that others do the same! Thank you, Nunavut: I will be back. Business Iceland | Embassy of Iceland Canada | Green by Iceland | Iceland Renewable Energy Cluster | Iceland Ocean Cluster | Iceland Tourism Cluster | Icelandair | Icelandair Cargo | Isavia | Eimskip | Canadian North

This week Ambassador Hlynur Gudjonsson had the pleasure of accompanying to Iceland a business delegation led by the Inuit Development Corporation Association focused on all things fisheries, energy, and tourism. Participating were executives from Inuit-owned development corporations from Nunavut, Québec, and Newfoundland & Labrador. In only four short days the delegation held over 20 meetings with close to 40 different Icelandic companies and institutions, a real feat of endurance. We greatly value the delegation’s interest and the opportunity this visit has provided to create new commercial linkages that will bring value to both Iceland and communities across Canada’s north. Thank you very much to the IDCA’s Patrick Duxbury for coordinating this visit on the Canadian side and to senior executives from ᒪᑭᕝᕕᒃ - Makivvik, Nunasi Corporation, Sakku Investments Corporation, Nukik Corporation, the Nunatsiavut Group of Companies, Nunavut Nukkiksautiit Corporation, and Tarquti Energy for dedicating your time, energy, and resources to this trip. And an equally strong thank you to our Icelandic counterparts from our ministry, Business Iceland, IceFish - Icelandic Fisheries, Seafood & Aqua Exhibition, the Iceland Renewable Energy Cluster, Ambassador Jenny Hill, and the Embassy of Canada in Iceland for your critical roles in making this visit such a success. A very bright future of north-to-north collaboration between Iceland and Canada lies ahead!

This week our embassy's Head of Public Affairs and Trade, Per Unheim, travelled to Edmonton, Alberta for 2024's Carbon Capture Canada conference and expo. The event confirmed the extent to which the Government of Alberta has set a strong foundation for the growth of carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) in the province. The conference also showed the substantial and growing interest by large Canadian emitters in hard-to-abate industries such as cement, steel, petro-chemicals, waste management, and pulp and paper to adopt CCUS technologies that can support their pathways to net zero. In doing so, they will ensure themselves better access to international markets such as Europe with increasingly rigorous green supply chain standards. Icelandic CCUS leaders Carbon Recycling International and Carbfix are well placed to respond to this demand in Canada (the latter outside of Alberta for geological reasons). The same goes for Icelandic cleantech companies such as SnerpaPower, who help large emitters optimize their electricity consumption. We therefore look forward to facilitating further B2B cooperation in this fast-growing sector in Canada over the coming years. Business Iceland | Green by Iceland | Trade Commissioner Service | Service des délégués commerciaux | DeepSky | Climeworks | Carbon Upcycling Technologies | Enhance Energy Inc. | Carbon Management Canada | Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) | Heidelberg Materials | Lafarge Canada

We are looking forward to attending this year's Summit on behalf Business Iceland alongside Iceland's Helix Health and Careflux. It follows NLHS's recent productive visit to Iceland during Iceland Innovation Week and is a great medium for furthering cooperation between Newfoundland & Labrador and Iceland around innovation in health service delivery.

A tale of two economies: Iceland and Canada’s bilateral product trade continues to expand, growing at an annualized rate of 13.1% between 2017 and 2022. Total bilateral product trade came to approximately CAD $315 million in 2022, up from over CAD $260 million in 2021. Would you have been able to guess the main products going back and forth? As illustrated in the graphic below (Icelandic exports to Canada shown at left, imports from Canada at right), high quality fresh and frozen fish products – and the many consummables derived from our 100% Fish approach – dominate Iceland’s exports to Canada. Likely less well known, however, are points such as those below illustrating that there is much more coming into Canada from Iceland than just our fantastic seafood products. For example: · ALUMINIUM: Iceland is home to several major green aluminium smelters, while Canada is an important supplier and processer of raw materials. For more, see: https://lnkd.in/eH4GP4ED. · ORTHOPEDIC APPLIANCES: Iceland, through Össur, is a global leader in the design and production of advanced prosthetic, bracing and support devices for people with disabilities and injuries. · INDUSTRIAL FOOD PREPARATION MACHINERY: Icelandic companies such as Marel are leading providers of advanced food processing technologies in Canada, encompassing not only seafood but also meat and poultry. Companies across this country rely on their machinery every day. Going forward, we see great prospects for further diversifying Iceland’s exports to Canada across both goods and services. Tech and innovation will be an important driver of that diversification, from renewable energy and cleantech to biotech, healthtech, and marine technologies, to name only a few. Is there anything else in these graphics that stands out to you? If interested in learning more about Iceland’s trade with Canada, check out our data source to explore further: https://shorturl.at/pdrfS. And follow us here on LinkedIn, of course! Business Iceland | Green by Iceland | Iceland Ocean Cluster | Rio Tinto | Alcoa | SnerpaPower | Hlynur Gudjonsson | IceFish - Icelandic Fisheries, Seafood & Aqua Exhibition | Xavier Rodriguez | Hefring Marine | Rafnar Maritime | ORF Genetics | Alvotech | VAXA Technologies Iceland | Slippurinn DNG | Icelandic Asia | Brim | Samherji hf. | Icelandic Seafood | IceMar Ltd. | IceWind | Laki Power | Nox Medical | NeckCare | Kerecis

We are happy to support further collaboration between Iceland and Canada's growing land-based Arctic char industries. 🐟

We are pleased to be facilitating this visit to Iceland by the Inuit Development Corporation Association and look forward to furthering our cooperation with Inuit-owned companies across Canada’s north.