Conference to announce winners planned for April 2014
EDMONTON – The Climate Change and Emissions Management (CCEMC) Corporation received 344 submissions in the first round of funding for its international Grand Challenge. This five-year $35 million competition seeks to fund projects that will discover, develop and deploy innovative uses for carbon. Organizations from 37 countries submitted proposals, with submissions from Africa, Europe, Australia, Asia, and North and South America.
“The response to the first round of the CCEMC Grand Challenge surpassed our expectations,” said CCEMC Chair Eric Newell. “We are optimistic that this open innovation competition will foster multiple technologies that can be deployed in Alberta to convert carbon into useful products and complement other greenhouse gas reduction strategies currently in development in the province.
The bulk of submissions are from North America, where there is some work underway
to develop carbon utilization technologies. Of the 344 submissions, the CCEMC received 151 submissions from the United States and 96 from Canada.
Thirty-one per cent of the proposals received are from academic institutions, with an additional 25 per cent from small and medium enterprises, 15 per cent from large corporations and 11 per cent from inventors. Submissions were also received from consultants, research organizations, government laboratories, and not-for-profit corporations.
“Our work with the CCEMC began early in 2012 when they made the commitment to take a leadership role in finding alternative uses for carbon. The CCEMC is leading the world
in thinking about the reduction of greenhouse gases with a fresh perspective, and we are pleased to have partnered with them through that strategic process, and to have helped them realize their goals with the first phase of this Grand Challenge,” said Denys Resnick, Vice President of Strategic Programs, NineSigma.
The CCEMC Grand Challenge aims to develop carbon utilization technologies that have the capability of utilizing at least 1 net megatonne of greenhouse gases annually when fully commercialized.
The CCEMC technical team is currently reviewing submissions. Shortlisted projects will be invited to submit a comprehensive proposal. Up to 20 proponents will be selected
to receive grants of up to $500,000 to support the development of their technologies. Successful solution providers will have access to a network of supporting organizations that include business experts, government agencies, finance organizations and potential industry partners to name a few.
The successful candidates will be announced in April 2014 at a conference in Edmonton. Conference details will be announced in the coming weeks.
The second round of the CCEMC Grand Challenge launches in 2015 and will be open to both new entrants and winners from the first round. Up to five projects will receive grants of up to $3 million each to develop their technologies. The final winning solution will be announced in 2018, with the winner receiving a $10 million grant to support technology commercialization.
In addition to the Grand Challenge, the CCEMC provides funding for projects that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and invites submissions for funding twice each year. The organization currently has $50 million available for projects that reduce emissions from fossil fuel production and processing with submissions due September 27. Details are available at ccemc.ca/apply.
The CCEMC focuses on stimulating transformative change by funding projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The CCEMC is a not-for-profit corporation that operates independently of government. Funding for the CCEMC is collected from industry. Since 2007, Alberta companies that annually produce more than 100,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions over a baseline are required to reduce their greenhouse gas intensity by
12 per cent. Paying $15 into the Climate Change and Emissions Management Fund for every tonne over the reduction limit is one compliance option. The CCEMC invests the money collected into the discovery, development and deployment of clean technology. More detail on CCEMC is available at ccemc.ca.