ALBERTA INVESTS $28 MILLION TO ADVANCE INDUSTRIAL TRANSFORMATION AND ACCELERATE CLEAN TECHNOLOGIES; MORE PROJECTS TO BE ANNOUNCED SHORTLY
Emissions Reduction Alberta is investing $28 million in six energy technology projects throughout the province through the Industrial Transformation Challenge. Additional projects funded through this Call will be announced in the coming weeks, showcasing a broad range of innovations across electricity and grid systems, sustainable construction and building materials, and other industrial sectors.
These initial six projects represent a total investment of $172 million, improving industrial efficiency, lowering emissions, and reducing costs while strengthening Alberta’s long-term competitiveness in global energy and resource markets. Funding is sourced from the Government of Alberta’s Technology Innovation and Emissions Reduction (TIER) fund.
Grant Hunter, Minister of Environment and Protected Areas, made the announcement on February 12, 2026, in Coaldale, Alberta. Minister Hunter was joined by ERA Board Chair Kelly Ogle and Phillip Abrary, CEO and Chairman of Taurus Canada Renewable Natural Gas Corp.
The funded projects span a wide range of applications, from renewable natural gas and methane reduction to carbon capture, pipeline safety, land remediation, and advanced oil recovery. Investments range from $625,000 to $12 million per project and are located across the province, including Calgary, Suffield, Yellowhead County, Leduc County, Coaldale, and Edmonton.
If successful, the projects were expected to reduce an estimated 260,000 tonnes of emissions by 2030, create approximately 1,035 person-year jobs, and add $166.5 million to Alberta’s economy by 2027.
THE FOLLOWING PROJECTS WERE SELECTED FOR FUNDING:
CENTRAL FARMS RNG LTD. (A subsidiary of Taurus Canada Renewable Natural Gas Corp.)
Total Project Value: $70,500,000 | ERA Funding: $10,000,000
Location: Coaldale, AB
Develop a first-of-its-kind facility that converts agricultural byproducts into renewable natural gas and soil additives. The project integrates carbon-negative anaerobic digestion and carbon capture and storage.
Total Project Value: $3,600,000 | ERA Funding: $1,550,000
Location: Calgary, AB
Pilot ArmorFoamTM technology to improve enhanced oil recovery performance while reducing energy use and supporting permanent CO2 storage. Field tests will occur in Alberta and Saskatchewan.
Total Project Value: $7,700,000 | ERA Funding: $2,800,000
Location: Edmonton, AB
Develop a new approach to reduce methane emissions from livestock, with tests focused on effectiveness, safety, and producer benefits.
Total Project Value: $1,250,000 | ERA Funding: $625,000
Location: Suffield, AB
Advance the Envirolock® Pipeline Reinforcement System to prevent ductile running fractures in CO2 pipelines, supporting future CCUS infrastructure.
Total Project Value: $87,000,000 | ERA Funding: $12,000,000
Location: Yellowhead County, AB
Test carbon capture technologies on compressor engines at the Banshee Gas Plant. Semi-commercial units will help evaluate scalability and future sequestration opportunities.
Total Project Value: $2,800,000 | ERA Funding: $750,000
Location: Leduc County, AB
Advance electrokinetic remediation for inactive oil and gas sites by expanding the system’s ability to remove salts and hydrocarbons simultaneously.
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 required piloting, demonstrating, or deploying the technology within Alberta. Projects for the Industrial Transformation Challenge are located across the province, including Coaldale, Calgary, Edmonton, Suffield, Yellowhead County, and Leduc County.
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 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
The Industrial Transformation Challenge is an annual funding competition designed to strengthen the economic competitiveness and environmental sustainability of Alberta’s industrial and natural resource sectors. 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. Applicants were specifically encouraged to partner with Alberta’s post-secondary and research institutions, Indigenous communities, co-operative organizations, and municipalities where they can.
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
Successful applicants were eligible for up to $10 million per project, with a minimum funding request of $500,000.
ABOUT EMISSIONS REDUCTION ALBERTA (ERA):
Since 2009, Emissions Reduction Alberta invested $1.1 billion from the TIER fund into 351 projects valued at more than $11.1 billion. These projects were estimated to deliver cumulative emissions reductions of more than 28 million tonnes by 2030 and 85 million tonnes 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.