Funding Alert: Emissions Reduction Alberta - Advanced Materials Challenge Technology Funding Stream

This funding stream supports scale-up, pilot demonstration, and first-of-kind projects that shape the circular economy and create low emissions products.

Funding Alert: Emissions Reduction Alberta – Advanced Materials Challenge Technology Funding Stream

The Advanced Materials Challenge supports scale-up, pilot demonstration, and first-of-kind projects that shape the circular economy and create low emissions products, including concrete, plastics, food, wood, carbon materials, chemicals, and more. Potential technologies range from creating non-combustion products from bitumen, improved circularity for the plastics value chain, waste management, recovery, and recycling, processing of critical minerals, and producing materials from carbon dioxide.

Application Deadline: Wednesday, Jan 22, 2025 at 5:00 p.m. Mountain Standard Time – for EOI submission

Region: Alberta (technology solutions can originate from anywhere globally but 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.

Funding Amount

Maximum: $5 million, minimum: $250,000 per project. Total funding available: $40 million. ERA’s contribution will be no more than 50% of total project expenses.

Eligible Applicants

This program is industry agnostic: It includes, innovators, technology developers, commercial and industrial building owners, municipalities, Indigenous communities, associations, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), research and development organizations, universities, and not-for-profits. A broad scope of both early- and late-stage technologies will be supported.

Program Objectives: Advanced Materials Challenge

To increase the competitiveness of Alberta’s manufacturing and resource sectors, grow new provincial industries with export potential, and reduce the carbon footprint of material supply chains.

Eligible Projects

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 Pilot: 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.
• Commercial Demonstration: 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 Commercial Implementation: 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.

Examples of Technology Areas with Strong Alignment Include, but are Not Limited to:

• 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 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
• 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
• 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 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

Ineligible Projects

• 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

Funding Process

ERA funding is disbursed on a milestone completion basis after real expenses have been incurred toward specified tasks over the course of the project term.

Thinking of applying for financing? Don’t wait! These funds are highly competitive. Contact us today to get started!

Why Ayming?

Our team of experts will take the time to understand your current and future planned projects. We will then align these initiatives to the program in order to provide you with the highest ROI and the highest chance of approval.

• We have extensive experience working with Canadian SMEs and have the expertise to properly position and maximize your application to secure your business funding.
• We are the first Canadian company to establish a national grants practice.
• Our proprietary artificial intelligence (AI) driven database of grants provides live access to thousands of programs, including a custom snapshot of all federal and provincial grants currently available to each company specifically.
• Our highly experienced delivery teams boast over 50 + years of combined grants experience and over 200+ years of combined SR&ED experience. Partner with true subject matter experts who are invested in your success.
• No risk success-fee remuneration.

Make sure you contact one of our Grant experts today to get your application started ASAP before program funding is depleted. We’re here to help answer all of your questions.

Find out more about our Grants process here.