Clean Industry Fund emissions reduction grants
Grants for operators of regulated industrial facilities in British Columbia to cut existing greenhouse gas emissions using commercially proven technology.
Esta oportunidad está disponible actualmente en inglés.
The Emissions Performance stream supports capital, facility and software improvements that reduce emissions from existing industrial operations. Technology must have proven commercial sales or have been demonstrated at commercial scale.
Under the closed 2026 round, funding could cover up to 50% of budgeted eligible expenses, with a maximum of CAD 10 million per project. CIF funding and other grants, including relevant refundable federal investment tax credits, could together reach 75%; repayable loans do not count towards this limit, leaving at least 25% to be funded by the applicant when other funding is involved. If combined funding exceeds the 75% limit, excess provincial funding must be repaid within 30 days, with interest.
Eligible costs include engineering, design, project management, construction, installation and required reporting, subject to the agreement's cost conditions. Purchased or leased project equipment, materials, software and supplies need invoices and proof of payment. Eligible employee time needs timesheets and proof of payment and is limited to base salary or hourly pay, with qualifying employer contributions and benefits capped at 20% of that pay. The time must reflect efficient work; using employees must be cost-effective and their pay consistent with comparable staff doing similar work. Commissions, overtime, bonuses and performance pay are excluded. GST and PST are excluded; other taxes or levies are excluded when refundable or creditable. Recipients must seek available tax refunds or credits and immediately return the Province-funded share of any recovered tax.
In-kind contributions of existing land, equipment or materials are excluded, with eligible employee costs treated separately. General administration and overhead, land purchases, financing charges, legal fees, application or agreement-negotiation costs, and government fees are excluded. Overhead costs incorporated into eligible contractors’ hourly rates or management fees remain eligible. Buying equipment used to construct or install the project is excluded unless buying is shown to be more cost-effective than renting.
Funding carries repayment risks. The final performance-related repayment portion is generally equivalent to 10% of provincial funding and can reach 20% for higher-risk projects; repayment depends on actual performance against the proposed emissions-intensity target. Emissions intensity measures greenhouse gas emissions per unit of production or output. Missing milestones, abandoning the project or failing to operate funded assets as proposed can also require repayment. If the Province approves an amended milestone schedule in writing, repayment for missing the original milestone deadline is waived.
Recipients must keep funded assets operating for their agreed project-asset life. The 2026 agreement template sets the end of this period at ten years after the date eligible expenses can start; approved schedule amendments can change that date. Exceptions allow provincial consent, transfer of the obligation to an acceptable third party, replacement by assets that reduce emissions more effectively, and temporary maintenance or repair shutdowns.
Eligibility
The following conditions apply to the 2026 round.
- You must be the operator of a Regulated Operation under British Columbia's Greenhouse Gas Industrial Reporting and Control Act (GGIRCA). These operations participate in the B.C. Output-Based Pricing System, which prices industrial emissions. Reporting emissions alone does not make an operation eligible. The applicant must be able to contract as the same legal entity that operates the facility; sole proprietors may apply.
- The operation cannot be designated a New Entrant. An opted-in operation qualifies if its designation as a Regulated Operation was in place when applying. Electricity import operations, energy utilities, greenhouse growers, and waste management and remediation services are excluded.
- Each named operation's operator must have submitted its 2024 GGIRCA emissions report. Reports are also required for 2023 and 2022, unless the proposal certifies that, in the relevant year, the applicant was not the operator required to report or the operation was not a Reporting Operation. GGIRCA compliance is required before signing, unless the Province waives it.
- The project must reduce qualifying emissions in British Columbia at an existing operation; new sites built from scratch are excluded. Qualifying emissions include emissions attributable to the regulated operation under the reporting rules and associated emissions from the operation or mobile equipment and road vehicles it owns and uses in B.C. Specified biomass carbon dioxide and captured emissions not released to the atmosphere are excluded. You need adequate planning and resources and a convincing business case showing that the project is unlikely to proceed without this funding.
- The project must not have started or be scheduled to start before written notification of success. Preliminary engineering is allowed, but construction or procurement of equipment or materials normally counts as starting. Only eligible costs incurred after notification can be funded, and payment requires a signed agreement. Projects must finish by March 31, 2031.
- A project required by existing provincial or federal law qualifies only if implemented earlier than the law requires. Explain how you considered impacts on Indigenous workers, businesses and communities; state explicitly if there are no significant impacts. One project can be submitted to only one CIF stream per funding year.
- Projects needing a new or upgraded connection to BC Hydro’s transmission system require its System Impact and Facilities studies.
- Disclose relevant financial-stability issues affecting the applicant or project, including insolvency, judgments, unresolved loan or lease defaults, tax liens and overdue taxes covered by the form's five-year declaration.
The agreement requires milestone reports and expense claims, an independently verified post-project emissions-intensity report within 150 days after the measurement period ends, and subsequent annual reports through the agreed asset life. The measurement period normally lasts at least 12 months; a shorter period needs supporting rationale. Annual reports start in the calendar year after the emissions-intensity report is required and are due within one month of year-end, unless the Province specifies another annual schedule. Unless the agreement specifies otherwise, annual reductions above 1,000 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent require a qualified professional’s declaration of competency. Supporting records must be retained throughout the agreement and for seven years afterward, or longer when applicable law requires.
For purchases of goods or services totalling CAD 25,000 or more before GST and PST, retain documentation showing fair market value and provide it to the Province on request.
Expenses materially departing from the proposal or exceeding budget items need advance written approval. The agreement permits budget reallocations of up to 20% of an item's original amount through a milestone report, but not amounts already claimed; other changes require approval or an agreement amendment. Notify the Province within ten business days of another funding commitment and submit an adjusted budget.
The agreement generally prohibits generating offset credits for the recipient, affiliates or business partners, with an exception for the GGIRCA Carbon Capture and Sequestration Protocol. Credits or incentives for beating an applicable statutory emissions-per-production standard remain allowed. Required insurance includes commercial general liability of at least CAD 2 million per occurrence; self-insurance can satisfy the agreement's requirements.
How to apply
- Estado
- cerrada
- Abre
- Cierra
- Condiciones de la convocatoria
- 2026 intake closed. The published deadline was May 22 at 11:59pm. These terms describe that competition.
- The 2026 rules allowed discretionary consideration up to two business days late with a five-point score deduction; this does not reopen the closed intake.
The 2026 intake is closed. Check the Province's funding page for future announcements. You can still complete the Project Concept Form and email it to the CIF Program Advisor at CleanBCIndustryFund@gov.bc.ca to request a project-guidance meeting.
For the 2026 competition, applicants submitted the EP Proposal Form and all mandatory EP Technical Appendix worksheets by email to CleanBCIndustryFund@gov.bc.ca. Proposals had to be in English, with every question answered and workbook appendices in .xlsx format. Prepare the business case, eligible-cost budget, risk assessment and emissions calculations using the round's instructions. Successful applicants negotiate a funding agreement with the Province; submitting a proposal does not guarantee funding.