Up until now, most carbon reduction incentives have been aimed squarely at big industrial players.That changed on Tuesday after the Alberta government launched a $40-million competition aimed squarely at small- and medium-sized businesses to come up with ways of commercializing new energy solutions aimed at increasing efficiency, reducing emissions and driving down costs for users.Funded by Alberta’s Technology Innovation and Emissions Reduction (TIER) fund — the industrial portion of the carbon tax — the so-called ‘Emerging Innovators Challenge’ will help fund scale-up, pilot and first-of-kind emissions-reduction projects, government and industry representatives said at a media briefing in Calgary.It was no coincidence the program was announced to coincide with Small Business Week. It’s all part of the UCP government’s plan to support its goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2050..“This new funding opportunity will help Alberta businesses access the critical capital and support services they need to get their technologies to market.” Justin Reimer — Alberta Emissions Reduction CEO.Under the auspices of Emissions Reduction Alberta, the organization tasked with administering the TIER funds, the cash will help support new ideas and innovations that have not been commercialized before in everything from energy efficiency and heating to digital solutions and reducing methane emissions. Emissions Reduction CEO Justin Reimer said while previous grants have targeted mainly the oil and gas sector, the new program will cover the gamut from agriculture, transportation, retail or virtually any other of the economy.“With more than half of the funded projects in Emissions Reduction Alberta’s portfolio led by small and medium enterprises, we are deeply committed to supporting the success of these organizations and the leading-edge work they do,” he said. “This new funding opportunity will help Alberta businesses access the critical capital and support services they need to get their technologies to market.”The challenge is open to small enterprises with fewer than 50 employees, medium enterprises with fewer than 500 employees and indigenous communities and organizations of any size. Up to $5 million is available per project, with a minimum request of $250,000. Applications under the program can originate from anywhere around the world but must be piloted, demonstrated or deployed in Alberta. The application deadline is December 14..To date there have been several notable examples of technology that have been developed in Alberta only to be sold to the highest international bidders.Squamish-based Carbon Engineering developed its groundbreaking direct-air-capture technology at the University of Calgary and managed to build an operating demonstration plant on the shores of the Howe Sound before it was bought up by Warren Buffet’s Los Angles-based Occidental Petroleum for US$1.1 billion in August.Although it is ostensibly a Canadian success story, it is presently building the world’s largest direct-capture facility — with Biden administration subsidies — to help increase oil production in Texas and not in the oil sands back home.When it bought the company, Occidental CEO Vicki Hollub said “this gives our industry a licence to continue to operate for the 60, 70, 80 years that I think it’s going to be very much needed.”.“Right now we do have a federal government that sometimes goes with a more punitive policy approach. That is not our approach.”Rebecca Schulz, Minister of Environment and Protected Areas.Both Reimer and Environment Minister Rebecca Schulz conceded that the US Inflatin Reduction Act — which is offering up almost a trillion dollars in sweeteners to develop new technology — is making it tougher to attract new innovation to Canada due to restrictive federal policies.In addition to larger federal contributions they want to see a more streamlined regulatory process with more carrots and fewer sticks.“Right now we do have a federal government that sometimes goes with a more punitive policy approach. That is not our approach,” Schulz said. “I think this underscores the importance of working with industry to say, look, we have a goal for carbon neutrality by 2050. How can we get there? And how can we get there using a variety of levers, whether that be regulations, but also incentives…to help industries grow and thrive?"Schulz further said her department is also looking at ways the TIER program can do more to deploy and encourage that innovation to stay in Alberta.“We've already had a number of conversations about, you know, what else? Are there ways that we can look at supporting CCUS and other technologies that we want to see happening right here in Alberta? We may be looking at ways we can support projects at different places in different phases of development. Those are early conversations.”
Up until now, most carbon reduction incentives have been aimed squarely at big industrial players.That changed on Tuesday after the Alberta government launched a $40-million competition aimed squarely at small- and medium-sized businesses to come up with ways of commercializing new energy solutions aimed at increasing efficiency, reducing emissions and driving down costs for users.Funded by Alberta’s Technology Innovation and Emissions Reduction (TIER) fund — the industrial portion of the carbon tax — the so-called ‘Emerging Innovators Challenge’ will help fund scale-up, pilot and first-of-kind emissions-reduction projects, government and industry representatives said at a media briefing in Calgary.It was no coincidence the program was announced to coincide with Small Business Week. It’s all part of the UCP government’s plan to support its goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2050..“This new funding opportunity will help Alberta businesses access the critical capital and support services they need to get their technologies to market.” Justin Reimer — Alberta Emissions Reduction CEO.Under the auspices of Emissions Reduction Alberta, the organization tasked with administering the TIER funds, the cash will help support new ideas and innovations that have not been commercialized before in everything from energy efficiency and heating to digital solutions and reducing methane emissions. Emissions Reduction CEO Justin Reimer said while previous grants have targeted mainly the oil and gas sector, the new program will cover the gamut from agriculture, transportation, retail or virtually any other of the economy.“With more than half of the funded projects in Emissions Reduction Alberta’s portfolio led by small and medium enterprises, we are deeply committed to supporting the success of these organizations and the leading-edge work they do,” he said. “This new funding opportunity will help Alberta businesses access the critical capital and support services they need to get their technologies to market.”The challenge is open to small enterprises with fewer than 50 employees, medium enterprises with fewer than 500 employees and indigenous communities and organizations of any size. Up to $5 million is available per project, with a minimum request of $250,000. Applications under the program can originate from anywhere around the world but must be piloted, demonstrated or deployed in Alberta. The application deadline is December 14..To date there have been several notable examples of technology that have been developed in Alberta only to be sold to the highest international bidders.Squamish-based Carbon Engineering developed its groundbreaking direct-air-capture technology at the University of Calgary and managed to build an operating demonstration plant on the shores of the Howe Sound before it was bought up by Warren Buffet’s Los Angles-based Occidental Petroleum for US$1.1 billion in August.Although it is ostensibly a Canadian success story, it is presently building the world’s largest direct-capture facility — with Biden administration subsidies — to help increase oil production in Texas and not in the oil sands back home.When it bought the company, Occidental CEO Vicki Hollub said “this gives our industry a licence to continue to operate for the 60, 70, 80 years that I think it’s going to be very much needed.”.“Right now we do have a federal government that sometimes goes with a more punitive policy approach. That is not our approach.”Rebecca Schulz, Minister of Environment and Protected Areas.Both Reimer and Environment Minister Rebecca Schulz conceded that the US Inflatin Reduction Act — which is offering up almost a trillion dollars in sweeteners to develop new technology — is making it tougher to attract new innovation to Canada due to restrictive federal policies.In addition to larger federal contributions they want to see a more streamlined regulatory process with more carrots and fewer sticks.“Right now we do have a federal government that sometimes goes with a more punitive policy approach. That is not our approach,” Schulz said. “I think this underscores the importance of working with industry to say, look, we have a goal for carbon neutrality by 2050. How can we get there? And how can we get there using a variety of levers, whether that be regulations, but also incentives…to help industries grow and thrive?"Schulz further said her department is also looking at ways the TIER program can do more to deploy and encourage that innovation to stay in Alberta.“We've already had a number of conversations about, you know, what else? Are there ways that we can look at supporting CCUS and other technologies that we want to see happening right here in Alberta? We may be looking at ways we can support projects at different places in different phases of development. Those are early conversations.”
