These investments, part of a broader $319 million commitment from Budget 2021, aim to drive down costs and enhance the performance of CCUS across capture, storage, transportation, and utilization.
The Government of Canada today reinforced its commitment to a greener economy and its ambition to become a global energy superpower with a major investment exceeding $21.5 million in cutting-edge carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) technologies. The announcement was made by Tim Hodgson, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources on July 4.
These crucial investments are set to accelerate the development of made-in-Canada solutions, ranging from advanced CO2 storage sites and sophisticated subsurface analysis technologies to the integration of cleaner diesel engines.
"We are taking action to make Canada a conventional and clean energy superpower — getting good products to market, cutting emissions, creating jobs and delivering the technologies that will power our economy for decades to come," stated Minister Hodgson, emphasizing the dual benefits of these strategic investments.
The announced funding is a direct allocation from the $319 million over seven years that the government committed in Budget 2021 for research, development, and demonstrations (RD&D) aimed at advancing the commercial viability of CCUS technologies. Natural Resources Canada is spearheading this commitment through its impactful Energy Innovation Program (EIP).
Projects receiving funding today were selected under the EIP's Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage RD&D call for proposals. This targeted call supports the development of next-generation carbon capture and storage technologies designed to significantly reduce the costs associated with capturing and storing carbon. The program is structured around three key streams:
• Capture: Focused on driving down costs and enhancing the performance of capture technologies across diverse emission sources. This includes innovations for industrial processes and even distributed emission sources like diesel generators, where OCCAM's Technologies Inc. is working on modifications to enable cost-effective, small-scale carbon capture.
• Storage and Transportation: Dedicated to characterizing and developing safe, permanent subsurface CO2 storage solutions and technologies that support the efficient transportation of CO2 across Canada. Examples include projects like the Bow Valley Carbon – Storage Demonstration Project and Enbridge Inc.'s Wabamun Hub CO2 Storage Optimization Project, which aim to characterize deep saline reservoirs and design new storage and transportation infrastructure. Enhance Energy Inc.'s Origins CCS Hub is also advancing with this funding, targeting pressure-depleted saline aquifers for novel geological storage.
• Utilization: Supporting RD&D of CO2 utilization technologies that not only reduce costs, energy consumption, and carbon intensity but also enable large-scale, long-term CO2 sequestration through conversion into viable products and commodities.
These investments are further complemented by broader government initiatives. As outlined in Budget 2024, the federal government has introduced a comprehensive suite of major economic investment tax credits, totaling an estimated $93 billion in incentives by 2034–35.
