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Alberta commits up to $50 million to help the province’s industrial sector reduce emissions, improve competitiveness

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The investment will advance technology opportunities with significant economic and environmental benefits across Alberta’s industrial sector.

Alberta’s provincial government is committing up to $50 million through Emissions Reduction Alberta (ERA) for the Industrial Transformation Challenge. Funds are sourced from the Technology Innovation and Emissions Reduction (TIER) fund.

The investment will advance technology opportunities with significant economic and environmental benefits across Alberta’s industrial sector. The Industrial Transformation Challenge is focused on technology opportunities that will be key solutions for achieving net-zero emissions and securing the competitiveness of existing and new industries.

Sonya Savage, Minister of Environment and Protected Areas, Government of Alberta; and Justin Riemer, CEO, ERA; launched the funding opportunity at COP27 in Egypt on Monday, Nov. 14. Funding is open to applicants from across Alberta’s industrial sectors, including petrochemicals, agriculture, forest products, manufacturing, energy, and more.

In a Nov. 15 statement, Alberta provincial officials said the province’s industries account for approximately two-thirds of its greenhouse gas emissions. The Industrial Transformation Challenge is focused on technology solutions that are currently not in widespread commercial use and will need significant investment, testing, and scale-up.

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“The $50 million Industrial Transformation Challenge is exploring innovations such as low- to- zero carbon heat, breakthrough industrial process improvements, electrification, methane reductions, and new product lines including sustainable mineral and metal extraction and hydrocarbons beyond combustion,” the statement said. “While technology solutions can originate from anywhere globally, they must be piloted, demonstrated, or deployed in Alberta.”

Successful applicants are eligible for up to $10 million per project with a minimum request of $250,000. The maximum ERA contribution to a single project will be no more than 50 per cent of the project’s eligible expenses. The application deadline is Thursday, Jan. 19, 2023 at 5 p.m. (MST) and an informational webinar will be held on Friday, Dec. 2, 2022 at 9:30 a.m. (MST).

Innovators, technology developers, industrial facility owners and operators, industrial associations, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), research and development organizations, universities, not-for-profit organizations, government research labs, and individuals are invited to apply.

Submissions will be selected through ERA’s competitive review process. A team of experts in science, engineering, business development, commercialization, financing, and GHG quantification will conduct an independent, rigorous, transparent review overseen by a Fairness Monitor.

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