Natural Resources Canada’s Energy Innovation Program has announced it is now accepting applications for funding to support clean fuels production and clean fuels transportation and storage projects. 

The call for proposals targets proposals for research and development and pilot and demonstration projects supporting the development of clean fuel technologies. Eligible clean fuels include renewable diesel, sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), biobased methanol, bio-crude, bio-oil, cellulosic ethanol, bio-hydrogen, renewable syngas, and renewable natural gas (RNG). Other eligible clean fuel technologies include low-carbon hydrogen derived from water or abated natural gas, ammonia made from low-carbon hydrogen and nitrogen, and synthetic fuels creased using low-carbon hydrogen and non-emitting energy, such as synthetic SAF or methanol. 

The funding opportunity is also open to other eligible technologies using biomass related to clean fuels production, including primary and secondary conversion technologies and technologies that facilitate the use of low-impact feedstocks, including fuel-forward feedstock densification and innovative algae and cyanobacteria cultivation technologies.

Eligible feedstocks for fuels and products derived from biomass include plant waste, animal waste, organic industrial waste, source-separated organic municipal solid waste, mixed organic and other waste, or purpose-grown energy crops. 

Preference will be given to projects that achieve at least a 75% reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions compared to fossil fuels, improve fuel production integration with intermittent input power sources, or adopt a decentralized or flexible approach to clean fuel production. 

Ineligible projects include those related to unabated natural gas production, producing first-generation biofuels such as ethanol or biodiesel, primarily using lipid or food-based feedstocks, focusing on innovation in pelletization or torrefaction technologies, or constructing commissioning, and/or testing demonstration-scale facilities for materials-driven biorefinery projects. 

The funding opportunity is divided into two topic areas. The first focuses on clean fuel production, with the aim of advancing innovative production technologies, reducing the lifecycle carbon intensity (CI) of clean fuels, increasing the availability of low-impact feedstocks for clean fuel production, and improving and assessing the logic, economics, and scalability of clean fuel production processes. 

The second topic area focuses on clean fuels transportation and storage, with the aim of improving the safety and integrity of transport materials and storage methods, developing more efficient transport and storage solutions, facilitating the integration of clean fuels into existing energy infrastructures, and developing novel non-infrastructure solutions for the sale and efficient transportation of low-volume clean fuels. 

Eligible applicants must be incorporated or registered in Canada. 

Additional information is available on the Natural Resources Canada website.

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