Energy Innovation Program – Clean Fuels and Industrial Fuel Switching

Solutions to reducing emissions

In its Net Zero by 2050 report released May 2021, the International Energy Agency states that almost 50% of CO2 emissions reductions required to create a net zero economy by 2050 will come from technologies currently at the prototype or demonstration stage, with this share being much higher for heavy industry. In Canada, heavy industry accounted for 77 meagtonnes (Mt)of CO2 equivalent (eq) in 2019, representing 11% of Canada’s total emissions. Funding solutions to reduce emissions in this sector is critical to address hard-to-abate segments of industrial emissions and create pathways for the use of cleaner fuels.

As part of the Government’s efforts to accelerate the development of technologies that can decarbonize industry, this call for proposals under the Energy Innovation Program will target industrial fuel switching and production of clean fuels for use in hard-to-abate sectors, focusing specifically on three technology areas. NRCan will be making available up to $50 M for focus areas 1 and 2 combined, and up to $3 M for focus area 3.

Focus area 1: industrial fuel switching

This focus area supports projects that have the potential to enable the substitution of lower carbon fuels or feedstock (including electricity, hydrogen, biomass, biofuels, and gaseous fuels) in the following industrial sectors: chemicals and fertilizers, iron and steel, smelting and refining, and cement.

Completed projects are expected to achieve the following broad objectives:

• Understand properties of lower carbon fuels and their impact on existing industrial processes and systems.
• Advance innovative technologies or processes that enable the future uptake of lower carbon fuels, including retrofit or redesign required to adapt to the substitute fuels.
• Use lower carbon fuels or feedstock in existing industrial processes to reduce energy intensity and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Focus area 2: clean fuels production

This focus area supports projects for the pre-commercial development, advancement, and piloting of technologies that reduce the capital and operating costs of producing clean fuels.

Completed projects are expected to achieve the following broad objectives:

• Develop new clean fuels production processes.
• Improve the process and efficiency of clean fuels production using advanced feedstock.
• Advance the usability of waste or underutilized feedstock.

Focus area 3: hydrogen codes and standards

This focus area supports projects that advance knowledge towards the development of codes and standards related to the production, transportation, storage, and utilization of hydrogen.

Completed projects are expected to achieve the following broad objectives:

• Advance knowledge towards the update, harmonization, and/or development of codes and standards for the production, transportation, storage, and utilization of hydrogen.

Successful applicants

The Clean Fuels and Industrial Fuel Switching call received 151 submissions, amounting to an overall request of $315 million. This is 6 times the $53M available through this call. After a stringent review process, twenty-five projects have been selected to advance to a final due diligence phase, which will be followed by agreement negotiation. Selection does not represent a guarantee of funding. As these projects are announced, they will be posted on our Current Investments page.

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