ALBERTA INVESTS $49 MILLION TO SHAPE THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY AND CREATE LOW EMISSIONS PRODUCTS
Through the Advanced Materials Challenge, ERA is committing $49 million to accelerate a broad range of technologies and solutions to help accelerate the circular economy, create economic opportunity, and improve the environment. In total, 18 projects valued at $198 million in public and private investment are receiving funding.
Funding will increase the competitiveness of Alberta’s manufacturing and resource sectors, grow new provincial industries with export potential, and reduce the emissions footprint of material supply chains.
Rebecca Schulz, Minister of Environment and Protected Areas, made the announcement on July 23, 2025, at 9 a.m. MDT, at NOVA’s Centre for Performance Applications facility in Calgary. She was joined by ERA’s CEO, Justin Riemer, and other industry representatives. Funding is sourced from the Government of Alberta’s Technology Innovation and Emissions Reduction (TIER) fund.
If successful, these projects could cut over 155,000 tonnes of emissions each year, with 3.4 million tonnes reduced by 2030 and more than 4 million cumulative tonnes by 2050. They’re also expected to create nearly 1,600 jobs and add $233 million to Alberta’s GDP by 2027.
THE FOLLOWING PROJECTS WERE SELECTED FOR FUNDING
Aqua-Cell Energy Inc.
Total Project Value: $1,860,000 | ERA Funding: $850,000
Location: Various sites across Alberta
Pilot a saltwater flow battery using a novel electrodialysis membrane and proprietary electrolyte. The project includes constructing and installing a prototype system, validating performance, and piloting applications for grid reliability and remote applications.
Atlas Power Technologies Inc.
Total Project Value: $6,500,000 | ERA Funding: $1,450,000
Location: Nisku, AB
Establish a pilot facility to produce high-grade activated carbon from petroleum coke for supercapacitor electrodes for electricity grid-enhancing applications.
Backroads Reclamation
Total Project Value: $3,990,000 | ERA Funding: $1,980,000
Location: Edmonton, AB
Establish Alberta’s first integrated facility to recover and convert construction, demolition, and renovation wood waste into high-value building materials.
BioOilSolv
Total Project Value: $12,400,000 | ERA Funding: $4,600,000
Location: Calgary, AB
Develop a biomass-derived solvent for in-situ oil sands extraction using solvent-assisted SAGD, with testing conducted in collaboration with Imperial Oil and other industry partners.
CarboMat Inc.
Total Project Value: $2,100,000 | ERA Funding: $1,050,000
Location: Calgary, AB
Scale up production of battery anode materials derived from asphaltenes, a byproduct of bitumen upgrading.
Carbonova Corporation
Total Project Value: $12,530,000 | ERA Funding: $4,380,000
Location: Calgary, AB
Develop a process to produce carbon nanofibers from various carbon-rich feedstocks, culminating with the design, construction, and operation of commercial units at three different scales.
Cielo Carbon Solutions
Total Project Value: $4,200,000 | ERA Funding: $2,100,000
Location: Edson, AB
Develop an advanced solid sorbent absorption carbon capture technology and pilot it at Tourmaline’s Banshee gas site to validate performance and demonstrate integration.
Curtis Construction
Total Project Cost: $10,900,000 | ERA Funding: $2,500,000
Location: Bentley, AB
Pilot Alberta’s first agricultural recycling infrastructure for polypropylene plastics using a water-based cleaning system and a mechanical recycling process.
Hughes Energy Group
Total Project Value: $11,990,000 | ERA Funding: $5,000,000
Location: Innisfail, AB
Convert municipal solid waste into fiber for bioproducts by advancing a pilot production facility and product validation with the University of Calgary.
Milner Power II Inc.
Total Project Value: $36,500,000 | ERA Funding: $5,000,000
Location: Grande Cache, AB
Recover and process almost 3 million tonnes of stored fly ash into high-grade supplementary cement-like material.
Northern Alberta Institute of Technology
Total Project Cost: $900,000 | ERA Funding: $450,000
Location: Various across Alberta
Build a commercial unit to produce recycled asphalt and shingle pavers from construction waste.
NOVA Chemicals Corporation
Total Project Value: $9,340,000 | ERA Funding: $4,670,000
Location: Calgary, AB
Develop advanced compounding techniques to improve the quality and adoption potential of recycled polyethylene to enable commercial use in various product lines without compromising performance or specifications, significantly contributing to plastics circularity.
Plascred Circular Innovations
Total Project Value: $25,000,000 | ERA Funding: $5,000,000
Location: Calgary, AB
Advance a commercial-scale pyrolysis plant to convert plastic waste into circular naphtha for diluting crude oil by completing a FEED study, facility construction, and validation of the technology.
Pro-Pipe Service and Sales Ltd.
Total Project Value: $ 4,210,000 | ERA Funding: $1,000,000
Location: Nisku, AB
Produce insulated drill pipe technology that utilizes advanced materials to minimize heat loss while surviving challenging pressures and temperatures associated with ultra-deep geothermal drilling.
Rangoli Surfaces Inc. (PolyCo Inc. Trade Name)
Total Project Value: $45,300,000 | ERA Funding: $5,000,000
Location: Edmonton, AB
Commercialize a flooring product produced from Alberta polypropylene in place of imported vinyl flooring materials by establishing a manufacturing facility, validating product performance, optimizing production, and initiating market entry by 2026.
SeeO2 Energy Inc.
Total Project Value: $500,000 | ERA Funding: $250,000
Location: Calgary, AB
Develop a reversible solid oxide fuel cell capable of generating electricity from fuel or producing fuels from electricity, including material selection, production, manufacturing integration, and pilot testing.
Sherritt International Corporation
Total Project Value: $7,190,000 | ERA Funding: $2,420,000
Location: Fort Saskatchewan, AB
Finalize the development of a process to refine Mixed Hydroxide Precipitate into battery-grade nickel and cobalt sulphates, including testing, process development, and pilot demonstration to progress the design of a full-scale commercial plant.
TerraVerdae BioWorks
Total Project Value: $2,500,000 | ERA Funding: $1,250,000
Location: Edmonton, AB
Scale production of biodegradable biopolymers to displace nonrecyclable options currently used in dyes, films, and more.
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 these experts’ recommendations.
PROJECT LOCATION
All projects supported through this Call require piloting, demonstrating, or deploying the technology within 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
The Call was open to projects involving technologies at the field test/pilot, commercial demonstration, or first-of-kind commercial deployment stage of development, i.e., targeting a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) range of approximately TRL 7-9+.
- Field Test/Pilot: The technology or innovation 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.
- Commercial Demonstration: The technology or innovation is approaching the final commercial product, and representative systems have been built. Projects in this category include demonstrating near- or fully-commercial-scale systems in an operational environment.
- First-of-Kind Commercial Deployment: 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, intending to operate the technology for its full commercial life.
ABOUT THE CALL
Alberta is the third-largest producer of manufactured goods and materials. These products are essential to the economy and present a significant opportunity for emissions reduction. For existing materials, there is a critical need to reduce embodied carbon, enhance material properties with additives and/or new formulations, and improve circularity through better waste management, recovery, and recycling.
Alberta is working to develop new materials from its natural resources, including non-combustion products, trace metals like vanadium and lithium, carbon-based materials, and novel bioproducts. These materials support technologies like batteries, fuel cells, and lightweight, durable consumer goods. While most of these innovations are still in early stages in Alberta, with the right funding, they have strong potential to grow and reach commercial markets.
The Advanced Materials Challenge is focused on the scale-up, pilot demonstration, and first-of-kind projects that shape the circular economy and create low-emission products, including concrete, plastics, food, wood, carbon materials, chemicals, and more. Funding will 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.
Successful applicants were eligible for up to $5 million with a minimum request of $250,000.
Click the links below for more details:
- Call for Expressions of Interest Guidelines
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- Frequently Asked Questions
- Expression of Interest Template
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 were invited to apply.
Partnerships were encouraged. Consortiums help attract and retain highly skilled workers, increase Alberta’s innovation capacity, engage local communities, and leverage complementary resources. Applicants were specifically encouraged to partner with Alberta’s post-secondary and research institutions, Indigenous communities, co-operative organizations, and municipalities where they can.
ABOUT 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 nearly $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 33 million tonnes of CO₂e by 2030 and 102 million tonnes of CO₂e by 2050.
ABOUT TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION AND EMISSIONS REDUCTION (TIER) FUNDING
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 assists industrial facilities in discovering innovative methods to reduce emissions and invest in clean technology, allowing them to remain competitive and save money.