Energy Innovation Program – carbon capture engineering studies
Non-repayable funding for Canadian companies, utilities and Indigenous organizations preparing detailed engineering studies for advanced carbon capture and permanent-storage projects.
Această oportunitate este disponibilă momentan în limba engleză.
Front-end engineering and design (FEED) turns a feasible project concept into detailed engineering, a cost estimate, a risk register and a schedule for an investment decision. Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) supports capture of carbon dioxide from industrial facilities, carbon dioxide removal, and dedicated carbon dioxide transport pipelines or storage hubs.
Request CAD 3 million to CAD 7 million for a project lasting up to five years. The contribution covers up to 50% of total project cost, or 75% for Indigenous applicants. Total project cost includes eligible and permitted ineligible costs, but excludes non-permissible spending. Only eligible expenditure can be reimbursed.
Your own cash contribution must at least equal the amount requested from the programme; Indigenous applicants have no minimum cash contribution. Combined Canadian government funding is limited to 50% of total project cost, rising to 100% for Indigenous applicants and utilities that are majority publicly owned. Disclose all funding sources before signing. NRCan can reduce its contribution and seek reimbursement if the combined government funding exceeds the limit. In-kind contributions are essential goods or services provided without a cash payment that the project would otherwise have to buy. They may count towards total project cost but cannot be reimbursed.
Eligible costs include project staff time, professional and technical services, training, travel and other necessary project expenses. Overheads are reimbursable up to 15% of eligible expenditure. Excess overhead can count as an ineligible cost only while total overhead stays within 15% of total project cost. GST, PST and HST are eligible only net of tax rebates; recoverable taxes and spending outside the eligible expenditure period cannot be reimbursed.
Eligible spending can start when the project is conditionally approved, pending due diligence, or on 1 April of the financial year in which the contribution agreement is signed. The period ends on the agreement completion date. Retroactive spending is limited to 30% of NRCan’s contribution. Spending before the agreement is signed does not create a funding commitment from NRCan.
Recipients must budget for knowledge sharing during the project and publish a final outcomes report online. Financial and progress reporting is required during the project, with frequency set by risk and at least annual reporting. Annual outcomes reports continue for five years after the project ends. The project ends when NRCan accepts the final reporting required by the agreement. Indigenous recipients may use a culturally appropriate alternative to the public report specified in section 10.3. Risk-based audits may apply.
Eligibility
- Your organization must be validly incorporated or registered in Canada and be a for-profit organization, utility or eligible Indigenous organization. Indigenous eligibility includes communities or governments, tribal councils or equivalent entities, national or regional Indigenous councils or tribal organizations, and for-profit or not-for-profit organizations majority owned and controlled by Indigenous people. The definition includes Inuit, Métis and First Nations people. You must own or be responsible for the capital investment in the assets covered by the study.
- The technology must be beyond Technology Readiness Level 8: completed and qualified through tests and demonstrations in its final form under expected conditions. The project must be working towards deployment at Level 9, where the technology operates in real conditions. Complete feasibility/pre-FEED work first: resolve key technical and economic uncertainties and select the preferred design. You must demonstrate engineering maturity, commercial and financial viability, and readiness to implement the project, supported by the guide's required technical documents, cost estimates, business case, schedule, risk register, governance records and regulatory plan.
- Identify all key partners and their roles from capture through transport to storage or utilization, supported by memoranda of understanding, joint-venture agreements or letters of intent. If the study covers only part of this chain, submit plans for the remaining parts.
- Direct air capture applications need detailed evidence of a suitable site, confirmed low-carbon energy access and a viable route to secure geological storage. Storage hub applications need a development plan identifying prospective emitters, non-discriminatory open access, and analysis of each emitter's carbon dioxide stream and potential impurities.
- Enhanced oil recovery is excluded. Carbon utilization must provide verifiable permanent storage potential. Biochar production or use, conversion of carbon dioxide to fuels, and greenhouse use are excluded. Projects already funded by other NRCan programmes may be considered ineligible.
- The project must deliver significant tangible benefits to Canada. Preference goes to projects with most benefits, investment and activities in Canada. Eligible spending outside Canada may be considered, and NRCan may require additional information and a rationale.
- Intellectual property developed during the project must belong to, or be licensed to, the recipient. Existing foreign intellectual property must be licensed for use in Canada. Prior intellectual property is not mandatory; explain if none is needed or expected.
How to apply
- Statut
- Deschis continuu
- Condițiile sesiunii de finanțare
- Expressions of interest are open to all eligible applicants until available funding is allocated. Full proposals require an invitation from NRCan.
Submit an expression of interest through the Energy Innovation Program application portal after checking the applicant guide. This stage is open to all eligible applicants and accepts submissions continuously until funding is allocated, with no fixed closing date. Full project proposals are accepted only after NRCan invites you; an invitation is not a funding commitment.
Submission timing can affect review priority. If NRCan requests more information, the date it receives that information becomes the application's new receipt date. Invited applicants receive the full-proposal requirements from NRCan.
Selected projects undergo financial, technical, legal and regulatory due diligence. Applicants have two months to meet due-diligence requirements, with more time required if regulatory obligations are triggered. Report all project locations, including federal lands and overseas activities; relevant environmental assessment and Indigenous consultation obligations must be completed before payment. Applicants do not have to consult Indigenous groups as part of the application, but must report previous engagement at the full-proposal stage.
Funding requires a contribution agreement signed by both parties. Notify NRCan of changes to arrangements with partners, collaborators or vendors so it can assess effects on scope, Canadian benefits and legal risks. For questions about this call, contact ccusfeed-cusceiic@nrcan-rncan.gc.ca.