Canada invests C$17M to advance carbon capture and storage innovation
The government of Canada has announced nearly C$17 million (~$12.1 million) in funding for carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) projects, reinforcing its efforts to scale carbon management technologies and support industrial decarbonization.
Delivered through Natural Resources Canada's Energy Innovation Program (EIP), the funding will support five projects focused on advancing CO2 storage validation, monitoring systems, and new utilization pathways. The program is managed by the Office of Energy Research and Development and forms part of a broader strategy to build out Canada's clean energy economy.
Canada already accounts for a significant share of global commercial CCUS activity, and policymakers are positioning further investment as a way to maintain that lead while progressing toward net-zero emissions by 2050.
Supporting a diverse CCUS innovation pipeline
The funding is distributed across projects in Saskatchewan, Ontario, and Quebec, spanning a range of technologies and applications. Carbon Alpha Corporation, a subsidiary of Svante, will receive the largest share to map geological formations and identify suitable sites for permanent CO2 storage.
Meanwhile, the Petroleum Technology Research Centre is focused on improving understanding of how injected carbon dioxide behaves underground, including its movement and long-term storage characteristics.
On the utilization side, CarbiCrete is developing cement-free concrete using industrial emissions, while York University is exploring lower-energy methods to power carbon capture systems. CO2L Technologies is working on electrochemical processes to convert CO2 into commercially useful materials such as salts and acids.
The funding builds on earlier commitments, including a C$319 million allocation for CCUS in Canada's 2021 federal budget under the Net Zero Accelerator initiative. Additional investments in renewables and grid modernization have also been made through the same program.
As global competition in carbon management technologies intensifies, targeted funding rounds like this aim to accelerate innovation while enabling collaboration between industry, academia, and technology developers.
