Emission Reduction Alberta (ERA) has announced a new round of funding for innovative greenhouse gas reduction projects - this time aimed specifically at small-to-medium sized organizations (SMEs), which it defines at those with fewer than 500 employees. Governments, universities and large corporations are not eligible to apply (although they may be included as a partner).
The Emerging Innovators Challenge offers a pot of $40 million, with individual projects being eligible for between $250k and $5m. This Call is not sector or technology focused - instead the focus is on supporting smaller organizations. As such, ERA advises that funding is available for a variety of potential areas, such as:
Digital solutions for logistics, agriculture, energy, and industry, including robotics, automation, and Artificial Intelligence /machine learning
Software-based solutions for managing energy and GHGs, provided they directly enable other emissions reduction technologies
Technologies to reduce waste (agricultural, plastic, food, etc.) and enhance recycling/value recovery
Advanced materials and manufacturing, including biomaterials and critical minerals
Novel low-emission buildings technologies
Precision agriculture and other novel practice-based solutions
Vented and fugitive methane abatement
Omics and other life-sciences-based solutions to reduce GHGs
Detection, measurement, and quantification of methane, N2O, and other GHGs from agriculture, oil & gas, and other sectors
Measurement and enhancement of nature-based carbon sequestration (soils, forests, etc.)
Put another way, as long as your technology or project is not covered by another Funding Call - such as hydrogen based projects and zero-emission vehicle infrastructure - and is not a business-as-usual energy efficiency retrofit/audit, or a technology previously eligible for ERA’s Energy Savings for Business Program suite of funding, it should be possible to apply for the Emerging Innovators Challenge!
It is worth noting that demonstrated GHG benefits are weighted at 30% of the rating criteria for this Call. As an experienced GHG consultant, Firefly can help you understand and quantify the benefits of your proposed project. Contact us to find out more.
The deadline for applications is Thursday, December 14, 2023.
An informational webinar will be held Thu, Oct 26, 2023 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM MT - click here for the sign-up form.
Full details on this program are available here: https://www.eralberta.ca/funding-technology/emerging-innovators-challenge/