$40 MILLION ADVANCED MATERIALS CHALLENGE TO SHAPE THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY AND CREATE LOW EMISSIONS PRODUCTS

Funds are sourced from the Government of Alberta through the Technology Innovation and Emissions Reduction (TIER) fund. Rebecca Schulz, Minister of Environment and Protected Areas, and Justin Riemer, CEO of ERA, made the announcement at COP29 in Baku, the capital city of Azerbaijan.

Successful applicants are eligible for up to $5 million with a minimum request of $250,000. The maximum contribution to a single project will be no more than 50 per cent of the project’s eligible expenses. The application deadline is Wednesday, January 22, at 5 p.m. MST (UTC-7h). Late submissions will not be accepted.

An informational webinar was held on Wednesday, November 27 from 1-2 p.m. MST (UTC-7h).

Click the links below for more details:

• Call for Expressions of Interest Guidelines
• Eligible Expense and Cost Instructions
• Privacy, Confidentiality, Data, and Security Policy
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Expression of Interest Template

WHO SHOULD APPLY

Innovators, technology developers, commercial and industrial building owners, municipalities, Indigenous communities, associations, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), research and development organizations, universities, not-for-profit organizations, and others are invited to apply.

While technology solutions can originate from anywhere globally, they must be piloted, demonstrated, or deployed in Alberta. Applicants are not required to be in Alberta, but all applicants must demonstrate a clear value proposition for the province.

Partnerships are encouraged. Consortiums help attract and retain highly skilled workers, increase Alberta’s innovation capacity, engage local communities, and leverage complementary resources. Applicants are encouraged to partner with Alberta’s post-secondary and research institutions, Indigenous communities, co-operative organizations, and municipalities where they can.

FOCUS AREAS 

While all opportunities funded under this Call must be relevant to materials products, this Call is not prescriptive about specific materials/sectors or specific technologies. The following list provides a non-exhaustive set of example technology areas that ERA believes could represent strong alignment: 

• Novel carbon materials 
  • Activated carbon products 
  • Advanced carbon nanotubes, carbon fibres, or carbon composite products and their application in different sectors (e.g., biocompatibility, smart materials, sensors) 
  • Graphene and integration in end-uses (e.g., supercapacitors, high performance batteries)  
• Production of non-combustion products from bitumen or other hydrocarbons 
• Circular plastics and other low-emissions plastics technologies 
  • Novel plastics recycling processes (e.g.: mechanical, chemical, hybrid, etc.) Advanced compostable and/or biodegradable bioplastic production (PHA, PLA, etc.) Low-emissions production methods and feedstocks for plastics 
  • Plastic re-purposing and re-use into secondary and tertiary products/feedstocks 
• Novel materials with applications in carbon capture and sequestration: 
  • Next generation amines and solvents, ionic liquids, and similar 
  • Novel chemical and physical sorbents (metal organic frameworks) 
  • Novel enzymatic or biological processes 
  • Novel membranes (polymer, ceramic, hollow-fibre, etc.) 
• Novel production and/application of biochar and other carbon-absorbing minerals 
• Conversion or utilization of carbon dioxide or other GHGs into valuable products that achieve permanent CO2 sequestration (note: this excludes production of fuels and similar products) 
• Production and processing of critical minerals (lithium, vanadium, etc.) 
• Material performance enhancements and/or embodied carbon reduction, including: 
  • Substitutionary cementitious materials 
  • Novel formulations or chemistries for plastics, ceramics, and mineral products 
  • Material additives and advanced manufacturing techniques 
• Novel materials solutions for emissions reduction in industry, including: 
  • Membranes and filters (e.g. for product separation and purification, water treatment, etc.)
  • Coatings, metallurgical improvements, and similar
  • Improved catalysts (e.g. to enhance performance and/or reduce energy use)
  • Materials for thermal efficiency, insulation/refractory enhancement, and/or improved heat transfer
  • Material enablers for clean industrial heat including electrodes and thermal energy storage materials
• Waste-to-value and recycling solutions for waste streams (municipal, food, agricultural, industrial, wastewater, etc.) 
• Energy supply chain (components for batteries, electrolysers, etc.) 
• Biomaterials and bioproducts , including:
  • Base chemicals and additives
  • Green building products

This Call is seeking transformative opportunities to position Alberta for success in a future carbon-neutral economy. All proposed solutions must be compatible with decarbonization strategies and must demonstrate a strong clear line of sight towards realized emissions reductions. 

Out of scope technologies include:

Examples of opportunities that are out of scope for this Call include: 

• Business as usual recycling or waste management processes 
• Production of plastic feedstocks without an end-user 
• Biochar production without an end-user
• Projects whose primary focus is production of biofuels or other fuels 
• Standalone pre-construction studies 

APPROVAL PROCESS

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.

PROJECT DEVELOPMENT STAGE

Expressions of Interest (EOIs) are invited for projects that will advance technology to the stages of field pilot, demonstration, or first-of-kind commercial implementation by project completion, as described below:

• Field Test/Pilot: At this stage, the solution is ready to be field tested in an operational environment. Projects in this category include scale up of prototypes to representative pilot scale and subsequent in-field testing of pilot units.
• Demonstration: At this stage of development, the technology or innovation is approaching the final commercial product and representative systems have been built. Projects in this category include demonstration of near- or full-commercial-scale systems in an operational environment.
• First-of-Kind Implementation: At this stage, the technology is ready for first-of-kind commercial deployment. Projects in this category will involve design, construction, and operation of the technology in its final commercial form, with the intent to operate the technology for its full commercial life.

ERA will work closely with Alberta Innovates to ensure a broad scope of both early- and late-stage technologies are supported.

ABOUT ERA

ERA is funded by the Government of Alberta’s Technology Innovation and Emissions Reduction (TIER) Regulation. For 15 years, ERA has been investing the revenues from the carbon price paid by large final emitters to accelerate the development and adoption of innovative clean technology solutions. Since ERA was established in 2009, almost $954 million has been committed toward 296 projects worth $7.4 billion that are helping to reduce GHGs, create competitive industries, and lead to new business opportunities in Alberta. These projects are estimated to deliver cumulative reductions of 36 million tonnes of CO₂e by 2030 and 102 million tonnes of CO₂e by 2050.

ABOUT TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION AND EMISSIONS REDUCTION (TIER) FUNDING

The TIER Regulation is at the core of emissions management in Alberta. The TIER system implements Alberta’s industrial carbon pricing and emissions trading system. TIER helps industrial facilities find innovative ways to reduce emissions and invest in clean technology to stay competitive and save money.