Federal Government Invests in Made-in-Canada Technologies to Advance Clean Fuels Sector

Backgrounder

On January 7, 2025, Member of Parliament Marcus Powlowski, on behalf of the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson announced over $11 million to support projects and studies aimed at advancing technologies and initiatives that will further strengthen Canada’s clean fuels and alternative fuels sectors.

These initiatives were funded under Natural Resources Canada’s Energy Innovation Program (EIP) and Clean Fuels Fund (CFF), with the aim of enabling the shift to more affordable, lower-carbon fuels in high-emitting sectors such as biomass collection, transportation and processing. They will also accelerate Canada’s efforts to further develop high-potential alternative energy sources such as hydrogen.

Projects under the EIP were selected as part of the Clean Fuels and Industrial Fuel Switching call, which targets industrial fuel switching and the production of clean fuels for use in hard-to-abate sectors.

CFF projects were selected under the Establishing Biomass Supply Chains and Building News Domestic Production Capacity calls. The former aims to ensure that a steady and usable supply of sustainable feedstock is available to clean fuel production facilities across the country. The latter supports the private sector in building, retrofitting and expanding clean fuel production facilities in Canada.

Funding Under the EIP’s Clean Fuels and Industrial Fuel Switching Call:

Diesel durable de 3e génération (DDGen3)

  • Recipient: Centre technologique des résidus industriels, in collaboration with Enerkem, CRB Innovations and CanmetEnergy-Ottawa.
  • Location: Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec
  • EIP Funding: $2.55 million
  • Project Summary: To build a pilot facility that will produce a novel, sustainable diesel fuel from wood products, processed first at smaller local facilities and then sent to a central site for efficient and cost-effective processing and refining.

High-Power Plasma Torch for Heavy Industry

  • Recipient: PyroGenesis Inc.
  • Location: Montreal, Quebec
  • EIP Funding: $424,000
  • Project Summary: To create high-power, durable plasma torches with long-lasting electrodes by designing, building and testing prototypes, providing a sustainable alternative to fossil fuel burners for high-temperature industrial applications.

Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions at CRH Canada via Coal Displacement With Alternative Low-Carbon Fuels

  • Recipient: CRH Canada Group Inc.
  • Location: Mississauga, Ontario
  • EIP Funding: $1.5 million
  • Project Summary: To reduce greenhouse gas emissions by using alternative low-carbon fuel (ALCF) made from biomass and non-recyclable materials as a replacement for coal and other fossil fuels in cement production. Expected outcomes include lowering Canada's CO2 emissions, driving a circular economy, reducing landfill waste, cutting emissions from landfills and supporting waste diversion programs.

Conversion of Waste to Sustainable Aviation Fuel via Modified Fischer–Tropsch Synthesis

  • Recipient: Greenfield Global Inc.
  • Location: Edmonton, Alberta
  • EIP Funding: $1 million
  • Project Summary: To produce clean fuels like sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and renewable diesel from waste biomass. The project will convert forestry waste into biocrude and then a gas, using a type of Fischer-Tropsch reaction to create low-carbon fuels that can replace traditional fuels for planes and heavy vehicles. The SAF produced would be the first to be fully usable without blending with petroleum-based jet fuel.

Funding Under the CFF’s Building New Domestic Production Capacity Call:

H2-FERT-FEASIBILITY

  • Recipient: Atura H2 L.P.
  • Location: St. Clair Township, Ontario
  • CFF Funding: $3.52 million
  • Project Summary: To conduct a feasibility study and a front-end engineering design (FEED) study to assess the construction of a 20-megawatt facility producing low-cost, low-carbon hydrogen gas via electrolysis.

Biomass to Renewable Transportation Fuels First Nations Renewable Hydrocarbon Fuels Production From Waste Biomass

  • Recipient: Wanagekong-Biiwega’iganan Clean Energy Corporation
  • Location: Town of Fort Frances, Ontario
  • CFF Funding: $2.25 million
  • Project Summary: To conduct a FEED study for a commercial plant in Fort Frances, Ontario, that will produce renewable low-carbon-intensity transportation fuel including sustainable airline fuel, renewable diesel and renewable naphtha using wood waste and non-merchantable fiber from the Boundary Waters Forest. Renewable naphtha, a byproduct of renewable diesel and gasoline production, can serve as a fuel, feedstock or chemical.

Funding Under the CFF’s Establishing Biomass Supply Chains Call:

Accelerating Biobased Economic Development in Beausejour-Brokenhead by Issuing a BDO Zone Rating

  • Recipient: Beausejour Brokenhead Development Corporation
  • Location: Beausejour-Brokenhead, Manitoba
  • CFF Funding: $92,500
  • Project Summary: The municipalities of Beausejour and Brokenhead aim to boost local economic growth by creating a Bioeconomy Development Opportunity (BDO) Zone Rating for their wheat straw biomass resources. This rating will help accelerate bio-based project development and position the region for success in the clean economy. 

Page details

Date modified: