ANNOUNCING UP TO $65 MILLION FOR 2025 INDUSTRIAL TRANSFORMATION CHALLENGE TO INCREASE ALBERTA’S GLOBAL COMPETITIVENESS

New for this year, projects and technologies with environmental benefits beyond emissions reduction are invited to apply, including improved water management, soil remediation, reduced land use or disturbance, and the reduction of air pollutants.

Successful applicants are eligible for up to $10 million per project; exceptionally strong projects with a high funding leverage ratio may be eligible up to $15 million on a limited basis. The minimum request is $500,000. 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, June 12, 5 p.m. MDT (UTC-6h). Late submissions will not be accepted. An hour-long online webinar was held on Tuesday, April 29, at 11 a.m. MDT (UTC-6h).

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, 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. While technology solutions can originate from anywhere globally, they should be piloted, demonstrated, or deployed in Alberta or show direct economic benefit to the province.  

PARTNERSHIPS

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.

ELIGIBLE TECHNOLOGIES

The Industrial Transformation Challenge is not limited to any particular focus area or technology; however, ERA is seeking high-quality projects in areas of high strategic interest or where known technology gaps exist.

All projects must include demonstrations of technology in a relevant environment (i.e., no standalone R&D, FEED studies, roadmaps, etc.). Projects may include these precursor elements but must culminate in a technology demonstration. The following list provides a non-exhaustive set of example technologies that ERA believes could represent compelling opportunities in this Call:

• Agricultural and Forestry Innovation
  • Improved nutrient and feed management
  • Novel fertilizers and improved distribution
  • Biological methane emissions management
  • Novel tillage, seeding, and harvesting techniques
  • Advanced genetics and omics for crops and livestock
  • Novel alternative proteins
  • Land use management practices
  • Value-added products from forest residues
• Energy systems solutions and grid innovation
  • Grid edge solutions (e.g., smart distribution and distributed intelligence platforms, predictive remote asset management, etc.)
  • Next-generation energy storage (e.g., solid state batteries, long-duration storage, etc.)
  • Novel approaches for grid services and reliability, including supercapacitors, flywheels, voltage management, and similar
  • Hydrogen-based grid technologies, including gas turbine conversion, fuel cells, etc.
  • Transmission and distribution infrastructure enhancements, including dynamic line rating, reconductoring, and non-wires alternatives.
• Novel fuel production methods
  • Third- and fourth-generation biofuels, including bioenergy with carbon capture
  • Power-to-X
  • Low-carbon intensity biogenic/synthetic fuels, including sustainable aviation fuel, ammonia, methanol, etc.
• Fuel switching and low-carbon heat at industrial facilities
  • Electric boilers and industrial heat pumps
  • On-site deployment of geothermal, solar thermal, clean hydrogen, nuclear, bioenergy, etc.
  • On-site deployment of energy storage, including thermal energy storage
  • Process electrification (e.g, heating, separation/purification, etc.)
• Novel processes and products
  • New chemistries for cement (incl. novel clinker substitutes), fertilizer, plastics, etc.
  • Novel oil and gas processing and refining
• Clean feedstocks (hydrogen, biogenic, etc.) for manufacturing
  • Novel refrigeration technologies and refrigerant substitutes
  • Novel bitumen extraction and processing technologies
  • Non-thermal processing
  • Reduction/elimination of methane emissions (fugitive, vented, diffuse, etc.)
  • Solutions for high global warming potential gases, including climate-friendly refrigerants and fluorinated-gas reduction/substitution
• Environmental remediation and sustainability
  • Novel solutions for soil remediation and land reclamation
  • Novel solutions for water treatment and/or reduced water withdrawals
  • Novel solutions for mitigating or eliminating air pollutants (incl. NOx, SOx, Ozone, Volatile Organic Compounds, etc.)
• Major industrial facility upgrades in support of emissions reductions

All project proposals must demonstrate how the proposed technology is compatible with a pathway to emissions reduction in Alberta.

Out-of-scope technologies include:

• GHG detection, quantification, measurement and monitoring technologies in sectors other than agriculture, forestry, and natural land use.
• Standalone preconstruction work such as feasibility studies, FEED studies, emissions abatement strategies, market analysis, etc.
• Digital solutions for industrial efficiency without a direct line of sight to emissions reductions at a specific site and without an industrial partner (e.g. digital twins, energy/emissions estimation software, energy audits or conservation plans, etc.).
• Business-as-usual deployment of efficiency technologies such as engine performance upgrades or commercial/residential building efficiency improvements (these are covered under ERA’s ESB, ETP, and SPEED programs).
• Incremental industrial efficiency improvements (e.g., marginally reducing energy/emissions without a clear path to carbon neutrality).
• Development of GHG emissions offset protocols or crediting systems.

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 the scale-up of prototypes to representative pilot scale and subsequent in-field testing of pilot units.
• Demonstration: At this stage of development, 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 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.

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. Projects will be approved by ERA’s Board of Directors.

TIMELINE

• April 2025: competition launch
• June 2025: application deadline/adjudication begins
• July 2025: requests sent to shortlist for Full Project Proposals (FPPs)
• September 2025: FPP review/adjudication
• December 2025: Board approval
• January 2026: project announcement

ABOUT EMISSIONS REDUCTION ALBERTA (ERA): 

For 16 years, ERA has invested revenues from the carbon price paid by large emitters to accelerate the development and adoption of innovative clean technology solutions. Since its establishment in 2009, ERA has committed $970 million toward 306 projects valued at over $7.3 billion, which are helping to reduce emissions, create competitive industries, and lead to new business opportunities in Alberta. These projects are estimated to deliver cumulative reductions of 34 million tonnes of CO₂e by 2030 and 95 million tonnes of CO₂e by 2050. 

ABOUT TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION AND EMISSIONS REDUCTION REGULATION 

The Technology Innovation and Emissions Reduction (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.