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Program details

The Government of Canada has made significant investments to support the development of critical mineral projects and value chains — from mining to manufacturing to recycling. Across government, departments are developing a suite of programs that support the Canadian Critical Minerals Strategy (CCMS). In an effort to drive research, innovation, and exploration, Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) has implemented the Critical Mineral Research, Development and Demonstration (CMRDD) program and the Global Partnerships Initiative (GPI) that support the Canadian Critical Minerals Strategy (CCMS).

CMRDD program	GPI
Supports research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) projects to advance pre-commercialization technologies and processes that strengthen critical mineral value chains, accelerating innovation in mining and mineral processing.	Supports, enhances, and promotes Canada’s international leadership in critical minerals in alignment with Canada’s strategic objectives under the CCMS. GPI contribution funding supports pre-commercial joint RD&D projects conducted in partnership with allied international partners and critical mineral development projects in Canada that are co-funded by international partners.

The purpose of this Expression of Interest (EOI) is to identify suitable projects for CMRDD and GPI contribution funding. It serves as a screening and prioritization process to identify high-potential projects should funding become available under the CMRDD or GPI programs.

Submitted EOI forms will be assessed for both CMRDD and GPI programs, and NRCan will select the best program fit.

All projects must be completed by March 31, 2028.

Objectives

Projects funded by these programs should improve feasibility, viability, and reproducibility of upgrading critical minerals raw materials through the RD&D of project technology(ies) and feasibility studies. Projects are expected to strengthen domestic and allied supply chains by advancing technologies and partnerships that secure access to strategic minerals. Expected outcomes include supporting industrial innovation, technology transfer, and cross-border co-investment with trusted partners.

Eligibility

All applications must comply with the requirements indicated in the applicant guide. Applications that do not meet these requirements will not be evaluated.

More information on the application process is available in the applicant guide.

Eligible projects

Eligible projects must be pre-commercial critical minerals projects with an initial TRL of less than eight that have a clear path toward commercialization and that advance the extraction, processing, recycling, or reprocessing of minerals identified on Canada’s critical minerals list.

Projects must focus on upstream-midstream processing (including auxiliary technologies), including either foundational research and feasibility (TRL 3–5), pilot and scale up (TRL 5–7), or large-scale demonstration and deployment (TRL 7–9), and demonstrate clear technical objectives and a credible path to commercialization within the CMRDD timeframe.

• CMRDD: Technology solutions may originate globally but must be tested, piloted, demonstrated, and deployed domestically.
• GPI: Joint R&D or co-investment partnerships with allied countries, where critical minerals development occurs in Canada (vertical integration permitted abroad) and where international partners directly contribute to upstream-midstream activities.

Eligible activities

• Pre-feasibility and feasibility studies 
• Front-end engineering and design studies 
• Testing and piloting to demonstrate technologies 
• Testing and piloting of auxiliary technologies that are used for upstream-midstream processing

Who can apply

Canadian recipients who are:

• Legal entities validly incorporated or registered in Canada, including
  • For-profit and not-for-profit organizations such as, but not limited to, companies, industry associations, research associations, and standards organizations
  • Community groups
  • Academic institutions
• Provincial, territorial, regional, and municipal governments and their departments and agencies where applicable
• Indigenous groups:
  • Indigenous communities or governments
  • Tribal councils or entities that fulfill a similar function (for example, general councils)
  • National and regional Indigenous councils, and tribal organizations
  • Indigenous for-profit and not-for-profit organizations (majority-owned and controlled by Indigenous people)
  • Members of Indigenous groups with community knowledge, Indigenous traditional knowledge, or input relevant to current policy discussions
• International recipients (under the GPI only), who are:
  • Treaty organizations and other international legal entities validly incorporated or registered abroad, including for-profit and not-for-profit organizations such as intergovernmental organizations, international industry associations, agencies, research associations, and standards organizations
  • Other legal entities validly incorporated or registered abroad for the purpose of demonstrating CM technologies applied abroad, including companies, industry associations, research associations, standards organizations, community groups, and academic institutions

How to apply

NRCan is committed to a consistent, fair, and transparent project selection process to identify, select, and allocate funding to projects that best fit CMRDD and GPI contribution funding objectives.

Applicants are welcome to submit project proposals via the applicant portal:

Only complete EOI forms will be reviewed by the program. Submitted EOIs will be assessed for both the CMRDD and GPI programs, and NRCAN will select the best program fit. Applications must meet all eligibility criteria to be considered. See the Applicant Guide for details:

Selected projects that align with CMRDD or GPI contribution funding objectives may be invited to submit a full project proposal (FPP). NRCan will work with proponents to refine the proposals should they be selected.

Contact us

If you have questions, please contact the CMRDD and GPI team at criticalmineralsrdd-minerauxcritiquesrdd@nrcan-rncan.gc.ca.

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