Energy Innovation Program – Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage RD&D Call (Canada)

Deadline: 17-Apr-23

The Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) has announced an open Call for Carbon Capture, Utilization, And Storage (CCUS) Research, Development, And Demonstration (RD&D) under the Energy Innovation Program (EIP).

Budget 2021 provided $319 million in funding over seven years for research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) to advance the commercial viability of carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) technologies. Delivering on the Budget 2021 commitment, Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) has planned a number of calls to support CCUS RD&D over the next several years. To that end, under the Energy Innovation Program (EIP), NRCan launched the CCUS Front-End Engineering and Design (FEED) studies call and selected projects for funding in April 2022, and launched an RD&D call in July 2022.

Funding Information

• The CCUS RD&D Storage and Transportation focus area is open to R&D projects and RSA (comprising up to 75% of total project costs) and Demo projects (comprising up to 50% of total project costs), over a period of up to four years. The EIP provides non-repayable contributions for both types of projects.
• R&D and RSA (up to 75% of total project costs)
  • Minimum Program Contributions: $500,000         
  • Maximum Program Contributions: R&D & RSA: $5,000,000            
  • Project Life: Up to 4 years
• Demo (up to 50% of total project costs)
  • Minimum Program Contributions: $1,000,000     
  • Maximum Program Contributions: Storage: $10,000,000 Transportation: $5,000,000         
  • Project Life: Up to 4 years

Expected Outcomes

• The CCUS RD&D Storage and Transportation focus area aims to support the RD&D of CO2 storage and transportation technologies as well as related scientific activities that advance and enable the characterization and development of safe, cost-effective, and permanent geological storage of CO2, and the development of technologies that support safe and efficient transportation of CO2 across Canada. This focus area also expects to support activities that enable planning and development of CO2 storage and transportation hubs, address technical, scientific, or social license barriers to CO2 storage and transportation, as well as generate knowledge to support development of regulatory frameworks and codes and standards.
• This may be achieved through development of technologies, techniques, standards, specifications, and tools for: CO2 storage, transportation, site characterization, improved safety, effectiveness, and efficiency in CO2 transportation and injection, plume detection and other related measurements, monitoring, and verification for permanent CO2 storage, and leak detection of stored CO2. It can also be achieved through characterization of potential storage reservoirs, research into the mechanics and behaviour of CO2 injection and sub-surface storage.
• As a part of the EIP, this call aims to support Canada’s net zero and emissions reduction targets through advancing CCUS knowledge and technology development and deployment.

Eligible Projects

Eligible projects include:

• Technology Development – Research and Development (R&D) or Demonstration (Demo)
  • R&D or Demo projects focused on the development of technology solutions that serve the following priorities:
    • Understanding and characterization of injectivity and capacity of existing reservoirs
    • Optimization of measurement, monitoring, and verification of transportation infrastructure and injected CO2, including for leak detection, next-generation seismic risk forecasting, and site-specific risk identification including well integrity, sub-surface CO2 migration, cap rock integrity, and ground water impacts
    • CO2 transportation and injection, including CO2 stream specifications, mitigation of the impact of impurities for reducing corrosion or embrittlement in pipelines, well casings, and other storage related applications to prevent CO2 leakage from geological storage, and for more efficiently compressing CO2 for transportation and injection
    • Conversion of existing infrastructure (e.g. wells, pipelines) for CO2 transport and sequestration
  • Technology development related projects must be advancing pre-commercial technologies between Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 2 to 7.
• Characterization and Enabling Activities – Related Science Activities (RSA)
  • RSA focused on:
    • Characterization of new storage opportunities, including development of methods for high resolution characterization from surface or sub-surface (improved characterization of faults and fractures)
    • Identification and quantification studies of potential conventional, unconventional, or non-geological CO2 storage, including mapping of pore space at a regional level, characterization of pore space, pore space injectivity and cap rock integrity, and identification of potential storage hubs
    • Development of conventional or unconventional storage opportunities, including saline aquifers, olivine-rich rocks or basalt, shallow storage, and other novel storage opportunities
    • Research on subsurface geomechanics, geochemistry, or dynamics within geologic formations to understand subsurface CO2 temporal behaviour, interactions, and CO2 mineralization; to maximize reservoir capacity; and to increase confidence in plume immobilization and dynamic pressure limits
    • Research on applications and viability of marine, rail, or pipeline transport in select scenarios
    • Applications of novel computational techniques to subsurface modelling for reservoir management, real-time decision making (AI-ML) to reduce the cost and time requirement for reservoir characterization, streamline site selection process, and improve seismic modelling
• Preferred projects are those that:
  • Enable permanent storage of CO2 (storage hubs/reservoir development) near key industrial areas that do not have storage capacity available
  • Explore storage opportunities in regions that are not yet well characterized
  • Enable planning of CO2 transportation and storage hubs
  • Support knowledge generation that informs and/or directly supports development of regulatory frameworks and codes and standards

Ineligible Projects

Ineligible projects are those that:

• Are substantially for the installation of CO2 transportation pipelines and are lacking a clear innovation component
• Advance exploration, mapping, or characterization of oil, gas, and/or other resources such as minerals or metals that are not specifically related to permanent storage of CO2
• Advance characterization or development of technology/techniques that advance non-permanent storage, including Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR)
• Replicate operating commercial CCUS facilities

Eligibility Criteria

• The CCUS RD&D Storage and Transportation focus area is open to:
  • Legal entities validly incorporated or registered in Canada, including:
    • For-profit and not-for-profit organizations such as electricity and gas utilities, electricity system operators, transmissions owners and operators, companies, industry associations, research associations, and standards organizations
    • Indigenous organizations and groups
    • Community groups
    • Canadian academic institutions
  • Provincial, territorial, regional, and municipal governments and their departments and agencies where applicable
• It is expected that the entity that will sign a contribution agreement with NRCan will be the majority owner of any assets purchased in full or in part by funding provided by NRCan.

For more information, visit NRCan.