OVER $33 MILLION THROUGH TO 13 PROJECTS WORTH $88 MILLION THAT WILL RESHAPE HOW ENERGY IS TRANSPORTED, MANAGED, AND USED

The Government of Alberta is investing $33.7 million in 13 projects through Emissions Reduction Alberta’s (ERA) Reshaping Energy Systems funding competition. These projects, valued at approximately $88 million in public and private investment, focus on technologies that will reduce emissions and contribute to a more flexible and sustainable energy grid in Alberta.

Projects are focused on expanding Alberta’s hydrogen fueling station infrastructure, studying the feasibility of Small Modular Nuclear Reactors (SMRs), using ultrasonic sensors and Artificial Intelligence to predict power line failures, and more. All funding is sourced from the Government of Alberta’s Technology Innovation and Emissions Reduction (TIER) fund.

The funding amounts range from $500,000 to $6.5 million, and each project will be piloted, demonstrated, or deployed within Alberta. This significant investment will advance technologies focused on the transport, distribution, storage, and optimization of energy use to reduce emissions, create economic opportunities, and enable a more resilient, efficient, and reliable energy system.

If successful, these projects are estimated to deliver annual GHG reductions of 119 thousand tonnes, cumulative reductions of almost 580 thousand by 2030 and 2.7 million tonnes by 2050. This funding is also expected to create 830 person-year jobs in Alberta and have a $125 million GDP impact in the province by 2025.

THE FOLLOWING PROJECTS WERE SELECTED FOR FUNDING:

AltaLink Investment Limited Partnership
Evaluating the implementation of a first-of-kind large-scale transmission battery energy storage system to the Alberta electric grid. 
ERA Funding: $1,500,000 | Project Cost: $3,000,000

Atlas Power Technologies, Inc.
Combining a supercapacitor-based energy storage system (SC-ESS) with a hydroelectric generating facility in Alberta, to provide fast responding reliability services to Alberta’s power grid.
ERA Funding: $6,500,000 | Project Cost: $14,102,261

Cable Coatings Limited T/A AssetCool
Applying a cooling coating to overhead electric power lines that reduces the lines’ temperature, increases their energy capacity, and avoids the need for line upgrades or expansions.
ERA Funding: $504,649 | Project Cost: $1,009,298

Crux Operations Control Management Limited
Piloting two software products that autonomously adjust oil and gas pipeline operations to optimize energy usage. 
ERA Funding: $1,500,000 | Project Cost: $3,000,000

CRWN.ai
Using ultrasonic sensors and Artificial Intelligence to predict failures on the most remote electric power lines before they happen.
ERA Funding: $785,000 | Project Cost: $1,622,914

Graph Energy Inc.
Boosting fuel efficiency and lowering GHG emissions with graphene ultracapacitor energy storage for diesel and natural gas generators.
ERA Funding: $2,512,650 | Project Cost: $5,025,300

HTEC Hydrogen Technology & Energy Corporation
Developing a high-capacity hydrogen fueling station in Crossfield, AB, enabling an initial fleet of over 25 hydrogen fuel cell trucks to serve southern and central Alberta.
ERA Funding: $2,062,500 | Project Cost: $8,250,000

Landmark Group of Companies
Connecting a group of highly energy-efficient solar + storage homes to become a virtual power plant that will improve the resiliency of the electrical grid and enable the wide adoption of net zero homes.
ERA Funding: $3,303,300 | Project Cost: $6,874,600

Onboard Dynamics
Launching a system in Alberta for capturing and recovering natural gas during pipeline maintenance operations, thereby preventing methane releases into the atmosphere and providing a sustainable alternative to the conventional methods of venting and flaring natural gas.
ERA Funding: $515,000 | Project Cost: $1,030,000

Telsec Property Corporation
Combining geoexchange district heating, solar PV, and intelligent controls to decarbonize multi-family homes. 
ERA Funding: $2,125,000 | Project Cost: $5,512,500

TERIC Power Ltd. – eLab Battery Project (Keyera)
Installing a 10 megawatt battery technology at Keyera’s Alberta EnviroFuels plant in Edmonton to provide energy storage and reliability benefits to both the industrial facility and the Alberta grid.
ERA Funding: $6,449,326 | Project Cost: $19,205,410

TERIC Power Ltd. – Fluiditi Battery Storage Project
Delivering cost competitive and reliable power with reduced GHG emissions, through time-shifting renewable energy generation, and providing grid operating services to the Alberta Electric System Operator.
ERA Funding: $5,271,500 | Project Cost: $18,210,000

X-energy Canada
Conducting an initial feasibility study regarding the potential benefits of deploying a small modular nuclear reactor at a repurposed fossil fuel power plant site.

APPROVAL PROCESS

Projects were selected through ERA’s competitive review process. A team of experts in science, engineering, business development, commercialization, financing, and greenhouse gas quantification conducted an independent, rigorous, transparent review overseen by a Fairness Monitor. ERA’s Board of Directors made the final funding decision based on the recommendation of these experts.

PROJECT LOCATION

All projects supported through this Call demonstrate a clear and justified value proposition for reducing GHG emissions or enabling the transition to a carbon-neutral economy in Alberta. These technology solutions will be piloted, demonstrated, or deployed in Alberta. 

KNOWLEDGE SHARING

Deadline for Submission

Thursday, June 15, 2023
5 p.m. Mountain Daylight Time (UTC-6h)

Applications Closed

All ERA funding recipients are required to produce a final outcomes report that is shared publicly for the broader benefit of Alberta. Funding recipients will be required to report on project outcomes, achievements, and lessons learned including GHG reductions, job creation, and other environmental, economic, and social benefits. 

ABOUT THE CALL

Energy systems are a critical component of the economy. ERA’s Reshaping Energy Systems funding competition will help modernize and strengthen the province’s energy systems and improve the reliability, cost, and efficiency of energy infrastructure. Funding is sourced from the Government of Alberta’s Technology Innovation and Emissions Reduction (TIER) fund.

The Reshaping Energy Systems funding competition explored energy transport and distribution technology, energy storage, digital solutions for energy management, demonstrating net-zero and net-zero ready buildings, low-emission vehicle infrastructure and fleets, and more. Reshaping Energy Systems was not limited to any particular energy carrier (electricity, natural gas, hydrogen, etc.) and projects that feature integration between systems for multiple energy carriers were encouraged.

Successful applicants were eligible for up to $10 million with a minimum request of $250,000. The maximum ERA contribution to a single project is no more than 50 per cent of the project’s eligible expenses.

Click the links below for more details: 

Innovators, technology developers, Indigenous communities, industrial facility owners/operators, industrial associations, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), research and development (R&D) organizations, universities, municipalities, not-for-profit organizations, government research labs, and individuals were invited to apply.

Collaboration between multiple organizations was encouraged. Applicants were also encouraged to partner with Alberta’s post-secondary and research institutions, Indigenous communities, and municipalities where appropriate.

Projects of interest include, but are not limited to:  

  • Electricity transmission and distribution (T&D) innovation, including:
    • Innovative medium- and high-voltage direct current (DC) solutions
    • Novel materials for wire (conductor) replacement and other solutions for T&D capacity additions and/or efficiency improvement
    • Line monitoring and dynamic line rating technologies
    • Supporting technologies for cross-border electricity interconnections
    • Non-wires alternatives for T&D
    • Grid T&D controls and digital solutions
  • Novel low-emissions solutions for grid services (e.g., innovative approaches to providing spinning reserve, frequency regulation, and other ancillary services.)
  • Novel solutions to enhance grid reliability and resilience.
  • Smart grid, microgrid, and grid edge solutions including novel distributed energy resources and solutions for remote, rural, and/or indigenous communities.
  • Solutions to integrate net-zero and net-zero-ready buildings with the broader energy system, including:
    • Building-integrated renewables
    • District energy systems
    • Novel grid-interactive building technologies such as demand response, control aggregation/coordination, virtual power plants, and smart heat pumps
  • Novel solutions for liquid and gas pipeline networks, including:
    • Electrification of compressors and engines
  • Energy storage technologies, including:
    • Storage of electricity via chemical, mechanical, electrochemical, or other means
    • Thermal energy storage
  • Digital solutions for energy management, including artificial intelligence/machine learning for grid management, advanced controls for energy end-use optimization (facility- or system-level), industrial demand response, and other demand-side-management solutions.
  • Novel zero-emissions vehicle infrastructure (battery electric vehicles, hydrogen vehicles, etc.), including:
    • Novel charging solutions (multifamily residential, battery storage enabled, etc.)
    • Novel fueling stations (hydrogen, etc.)
    • Vehicle-to-grid and similar technologies
  • Solutions for clean fleets (e.g.: transit, city services, corporate/service fleets, school busses, micromobility, and others.)

Given the unique supporting role that energy systems play in overall decarbonization pathways, ERA recognizes that solutions in this area may predominantly feature indirect or enabled GHG emissions reductions as opposed to direct or on-site reductions. Proposed technologies were not required to directly reduce GHG emissions provided there is a strong case for their overall contribution to transitioning energy systems to net-zero emissions.

Expressions of interest were invited for innovation to the stages of field piloting, commercial demonstration, or first-of-kind commercial implementation, as described below:

  • Field Pilot: At this stage, the technology or innovation 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: 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 the demonstration of near- or fully-commercial scale systems in an operational environment.
  • First-of-Kind Commercial Implementation: At this stage, the technology is ready for first-of-kind commercial deployment. Projects in this category will involve the design, construction, and operation of the technology in its final commercial form, with the intent to operate the technology for its full commercial life.
ABOUT EMISSIONS REDUCTION ALBERTA (ERA):

For more than 13 years, ERA has been investing revenues from the carbon price paid by large emitters to accelerate the development and adoption of innovative clean technology solutions. Since we were established in 2009, we have committed $855 million toward 245 projects worth $7.1 billion that are helping to reduce GHGs, create competitive industries and are leading to new business opportunities in Alberta. These projects are estimated to deliver cumulative GHG reductions of 41 million tonnes by 2030 and 105 million tonnes by 2050.

ABOUT TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION AND EMISSIONS REDUCTION REGULATION

The Technology Innovation Emissions Reduction (TIER) regulation is at the core of emissions management in Alberta. TIER implements Alberta’s industrial carbon pricing and emissions trading system. TIER is an improved system to help industrial facilities find innovative ways to reduce emissions and invest in clean technology to stay competitive and save money.