The Government of Canada Invests in Albertan Innovation and Jobs

CALGARY, AB, Jan. 29, 2025 /CNW/ - Alberta is an energy powerhouse for Canada and the world. From critical minerals to oil and gas to net-zero petrochemicals to renewable energy, biofuels and hydrogen, Alberta's natural resource sector creates thousands of jobs and drives economic opportunities for its workers and businesses. That's why Albertan innovators are working to develop and deploy new technologies that will cut pollution from the operations of key industries, enhance competitiveness and ensure prosperity now and into the future.

Today, the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, announced an investment totalling close to $13.4 million to support made-in-Alberta technologies to reduce pollution while growing jobs and economic prosperity.

These projects will improve carbon capture technologies, making them more affordable, efficient at reducing emissions and easier to use across industrial sectors. They will also result in better tools and data to assess these technologies and in the exploration of new ways to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, supporting Canada's sustainable and prosperous future.

The federal government is investing in the following Albertan companies and organizations that are developing cutting-edge carbon technologies:

• $2.5 million to InnoTech Alberta Inc. to study enhancements to amine capture systems
• $4.7 million to Ionada Canada to demonstrate cost-effective carbon capture and sequestration
• $4.3 million in total to the University of Calgary to support three carbon capture, utilization and storage research projects.
• $1.89 million to the University of Alberta to support two carbon capture, utilization and storage research projects

Through investments like this, the Government of Canada is ensuring that Canadians can take advantage of the generational opportunity of cleaner fuel sources. We are growing jobs and economic opportunities while reducing pollution in Alberta and across the country. And we are committing to work closely with all the Prairie provinces to identify the priority projects that will help build a green economy that is prosperous and sustainable and that benefits everyone.

Quotes

"Carbon capture has a vital role to play in growing the Canadian economy, especially in a future where global investments increasingly favour the countries that have stable economic plans that do not come at the expense of the environment. These projects will support job growth and economic prosperity in Alberta and will help ensure that the province remains an energy superpower on the international scene. I congratulate all the recipients on their leadership as they look to make Canada's industries greener and more competitive than ever before."

The Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson
Minister of Energy and Natural Resources

"Canada is a world leader in clean technologies, and Albertan innovations and companies are the driving force behind it. Canada is advancing many cutting-edge carbon capture projects in Calgary as part of our work to seize regional economic opportunities in this fast-growing sector that will continue to create good local jobs, secure long-term prosperity and energy security, and fight climate change."

George Chahal
Member of Parliament for Calgary Skyview

"Ionada would like to thank Minister Wilkinson and the NRCan team for their support. It has been instrumental in Ionada's development. The support of NRCan, along with our investors and industry partners NGIF, CRIN and PTAC, will leverage existing infrastructure, secure existing jobs and create new jobs and deliver meaningful CO₂ reductions on a global scale." 

Edoardo Panziera
CEO and Founder, Ionada Canada  

"I would like to thank NRCan and Minister Wilkinson for funding the Energy Innovation Program and our project. Energy problems tend to be large-scale, and a challenge with innovating is getting someone to take a risk in a new, promising technology. The implementation of potential step-change technologies requires progressive derisking including the ability to pilot at different scales. This funding enables engagement with new partners that allows us to address critical technology gaps in energy innovation with meaningful smaller-scale testing and demonstration."  

George Shimizu  
University of Calgary  

"This investment will play a pivotal role in transforming Canada's energy system. These projects demonstrate our commitment to cutting-edge research — our researchers are at the forefront of developing innovative technologies, paving the way toward net-zero emissions and supporting global climate commitments. By advancing carbon capture, utilization and storage, we are building a cleaner, more sustainable future for Canada and beyond."  

Dr. Aminah Robinson Fayek
Vice-President, Research and Innovation, University of Alberta 

"There is a need to mitigate carbon dioxide emissions from the energy system. This funding will help in the development of fundamental, science-based engineering models and tools for understanding the costs and carbon footprints of various technologies. This initiative will also train the next generations of the workforce for the Canadian energy industry."  

Dr. Amit Kumar
Professor, University of Alberta, and Canada Research Chair in Assessment of Energy Systems (Tier-1)  

"Through this joint venture with the federal government and industry partners, the InnoTech Alberta Carbon Conversion Technology Centre is finding ways to bring down the cost of carbon capture by reducing the energy intensity of solvent-based capture processes using real-world flue gas from the Shepard Energy Centre. The work we do today will help industry and technology providers advance CCUS technologies and reduce CO₂ in our atmosphere, and that's good for everyone." 

Mike Mahon, PhD
CEO, Alberta Innovates and InnoTech Alberta 

Quick Facts

• As part of Budget 2021, the government is investing $319 million over seven years in research, development and demonstrations (RD&D) to advance the commercial viability of CCUS technologies.
• Natural Resources Canada is delivering on this commitment through the Energy Innovation Program. Projects funded under the Capture focus area in the CCUS RD&D call for proposals aim to support the RD&D of next-generation CO₂ capture technologies and processes that have the potential to significantly reduce the costs of capturing CO₂ and increase applicability to different emission sources, sizes and CO₂ concentrations compared with commercially available, amine-based CO₂ capture technologies.
• The Carbon Management Strategy, released in 2023, sets out a vision for carbon management technologies to be deployed to help achieve Canada's climate objectives by 2050 while creating jobs and supporting made-in-Canada innovation.
• As referenced in Budget 2024, the federal government delivered, on a priority basis, a suite of major economic investment tax credits, representing $93 billion in incentives by 2034–2035, to create jobs and keep Canada on track to reduce pollution and reach net zero by 2050.
• Clean Economy Investment Tax Credits (ITCs) include: 
  • Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS) investment tax credit; 
  • Clean Technology investment tax credit; 
  • Clean Technology Manufacturing investment tax credit;
  • Clean Hydrogen investment tax credit;  
  • Clean Electricity investment tax credit; and  
  • Electric Vehicle Supply Chain investment tax credit. 
• The CCUS ITC is now available for qualifying businesses. To learn more, including how to claim them, visit Clean Economy Investment Tax Credits. 

Related Information

• Energy Innovation Program - Carbon capture, utilization and storage RD&D Call
• Carbon Management
• Capturing the opportunity: A Carbon Management Strategy for Canada
• CCUS Investment Tax Credit

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SOURCE Natural Resources Canada