Alberta Invests Over $44 Million to Help SME’s Get Clean Technology Solutions to Market Faster

The Government of Alberta, through Emissions Reduction Alberta (ERA) is committing $44.4 million in technology and innovation funding for 21 projects led by small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Funded projects, worth a combined $162.7 million in public and private investment, include piloting an approach to monitor wildfire impacts and detect methane leaks from space, deploying a treatment method for oil sands process-affected water, a new technology to recycle plastics, a novel facility to remove containments from soil, advanced digital solutions for energy efficiency, demonstrating the effectiveness of AI-powered lighting in commercial greenhouses and vertical farms, and more.

Funding is sourced from the Government of Alberta’s Technology Innovation and Emissions Reduction (TIER) fund. Rebecca Schulz, Minister of Environment and Protected Areas, made the announcement alongside ERA’s CEO, Justin Riemer, on Friday, July 12, in Calgary at SixRing’s production facility.

Funding amounts range from $250,000 to $5 million and each project will be piloted, demonstrated, or deployed within Alberta. Projects span industrial sectors including power generation, agriculture, agri-food, forestry, oil and gas, fertilizer, construction, electricity distribution, and more.

If successful, the 21 projects have the potential to deliver annual greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions of 217 thousand tonnes, cumulative reductions of 1.2 million tonnes by 2030, and 5 million tonnes by 2050. This funding is also projected to create 879 person-year jobs in Alberta and have a $238 million GDP impact in the province by 2027.

THE FOLLOWING PROJECTS WERE SELECTED FOR FUNDING:

Archer BD Inc.
ERA funding: $410,000 | Total project value: $960,000
Demonstrate the viability of a new SAGD steam technology to offer more affordable and lower environmental footprint bitumen production potential through lab and field feasibility demonstration activities to prove commercial readiness. 

ArkeaBio
ERA funding: $2,350,000 | Total project value: $4,900,000
Test a novel inoculant designed to target methane-producing bacteria in cattle with the aim of reducing methane generation from the digestion process.

Arolytics Incorporated
ERA funding: $1,000,000 | Total project value: $2,530,000
Develop software to help oil and gas operators record, reconcile, and report methane emissions data from various sources and optimize programs to monitor, detect and repair leaks efficiently.

Boundary Energy Inc.
ERA funding: $250,000 | Total project value: $500,000
Develop an ultra-low temperature Organic Rankin Cycle power generation prototype system that efficiently captures, stores, and converts energy from low-grade thermal sources.

DERBI Corp.
ERA funding: $620,000 | Total project value: $1,230,000
Demonstrate the benefits of virtual power plants for energy consumers and grid operators through a collection of software and hardware systems that work together to manage and optimize distributed energy resources at scale.

ElectroKinetic Soil Treatment Inc
ERA funding: $1,500,000 | Total project value: $3,510,000
Build and operate a commercial demonstration system for a treatment technology that removes contaminants from soil including salts, hydrocarbons, and heavy metals.

Etalim Inc.
ERA funding: $1,940,000 | Total project value: $4,830,000
Demonstrate the cost, reliability, and efficiency of powering well-head equipment with an advanced onsite electricity generation technology using waste methane that would otherwise be vented into the atmosphere .

Great Northern Power Corp.
ERA funding: $450,000 | Total project value: $1,820,000
Demonstrate a waste heat recovery system specifically designed for the scale and type of engines used in natural gas compression.

H2nanO Incorporated
ERA funding: $1,850,000 | Total project value: $7,600,000
Deploy a floating solar catalyst technology as a low-energy treatment method for oil sands process-affected water at field pilot/pre-commercial scale.

Highwood Emissions Management
ERA funding: $2,230,000 | Total project value: $4,460,000
Develop and validate the Emissions Intelligence Platform, a software solution that helps companies use multiple data streams to prove their true methane emissions, quantify uncertainty, manage risk, and comply with emerging methane regulations.

Kathairos Solutions Inc
ERA funding: $250,000 | Total project value: $500,000
Validate the technical and economic feasibility of a nitrogen-powered vapour recovery unit to eliminate oil tank venting in remote areas.

Landmark Group of Companies
ERA funding: $1,950,000 | Total project value: $3,970,000
Demonstration of an innovative, high-performance Nail-Laminated Timber (NLT) foundation in residential housing to evaluate structural performance of the mass timber product.

NTWIST Inc.
ERA funding: $700,000 | Total project value: $1,600,000
Use AI and Machine Learning to integrate data from many sources to help the resource sector optimize operations, reduce emissions, limit manual operator decisions, support sustainability of plants, and enhance energy efficiency.

OptiSeis Solutions Ltd.
ERA funding: $5,000,000 | Total project value: $16,200,000
Demonstrate the effectiveness of technology that can help significantly reduce the land footprint and GHG emissions associated with subsurface imaging programs.

Resolve Plastics Recycling
ERA funding: $2,000,000 | Total project value: $4,780,000
Build and demonstrate a novel technology for recycling all types of post-consumer plastics using a proprietary mechanical recycling unit that can accept highly variable and mixed plastic streams.

Rokk Energy Technologies
ERA funding: $5,000,000 | Total project value: $10,400,000
Design, test, and produce the components for an innovative new drilling system for multilateral wells in unconventional formations–reducing costs, emissions, and surface footprint by getting greater production from each vertical well.

SixRing
ERA funding: $5,000,000 | Total project value: $55,500,000
Build a commercial pilot facility deploying  SixRing’s proprietary biomass processing alternative in Lethbridge county, to produce a range of sustainable industrial products, including biochemicals, replacing those from fossil sources.

SmartGRO Bioengineering Inc.
ERA funding: $1,600,000 | Total project value: $5,000,000
Validate and demonstrate the effectiveness of AI-optimized horticultural lighting products in commercial greenhouses and vertical farms to more efficiently grow plants while reducing energy use.

Sultech Global Innovation Corp.
ERA funding: $5,000,000 | Total project value: $13,300,000
Demonstrate the scalability and reliability of converting sulphur waste from the oil & gas sector into plant nutrient and soil amendment products.

Ultracoustics Technologies Ltd
ERA funding: $260,000 | Total project value: $620,000
Test, validate, and complete commercial design for a technology capable of using acoustic sensors to detect pinhole leaks in industrial refrigerant systems.

Wyvern
ERA funding: $5,000,000 | Total project value: $18,530,000
Pilot an approach to monitor wildfire impacts and detect methane leaks from space using high-resolution, hyperspectral satellites.

All projects supported through this Call demonstrate a clear and justified value proposition for reducing GHG emissions in Alberta and/or enabling a sustainable net-zero economy in the province.

ADDITIONAL SUPPORTS

During the funding call, ERA worked with other innovation ecosystem service providers that provide support to SMEs in the clean technology sector to enhance applicant engagement and awareness, reduce barriers to applicants, and result in higher success rates for funded projects and companies.

Through its Innovators Support Services offering, ERA will work with other innovation ecosystem service providers that provide support to SMEs in the clean technology sector to enhance success rates for funded projects and companies.

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 demonstrate a clear and justified value proposition for reducing GHG emissions or enable the transition to a carbon neutral economy in Alberta. Technology solutions will be demonstrated or implemented in Alberta.

KNOWLEDGE SHARING

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.

STAGE OF DEVELOPMENT

Projects will advance technology to the stages of field pilot, demonstration, or first-of-kind commercial implementation by project completion, as described below:

  • Field Pilot: At this stage, the solution is ready to be field tested in an operational environment. Projects in this category include in-field testing of pilot/prototype 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.
ABOUT THE CALL

While small and medium-sized enterprises (SME’s) are the backbone of Alberta’s economy, they often face barriers to advance their transformative technologies towards commercialization. ERA’s Emerging Innovators Challenge will help Alberta businesses de-risk projects and reduce the time it takes to get them to market.

Small and medium-sized enterprises, organizations employing less than 500 people, and Indigenous communities and/or organizations were invited to apply. Large corporations, government labs, municipalities, post-secondary/research organizations, and commercialization accelerators/incubators were not eligible applicants but could be partners in projects.  Strong preference was given to lead applicants based in Alberta.

The Emerging Innovators Challenge was not technology-prescriptive but generally focused on under-represented areas in ERA’s portfolio where funding for SMEs can have a significant impact. Click the links below for more details: 

ABOUT EMISSIONS REDUCTION ALBERTA (ERA):

For 15 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 established in 2009, the organization has committed $986 million toward 299 projects worth $8.64 billion that are helping to reduce GHGs, create competitive industries and are leading to new business opportunities in Alberta. These projects are projected to deliver cumulative GHG reductions of 37.7 million tonnes by 2030 and 108.7 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.