Federal Government Invests in Made-in-Canada Technologies to Advance Clean Fuels Sector

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January 09, 2025

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(Natural Resources Canada) Canada is paving the way for a cleaner, more competitive energy future while solidifying its position as a global clean energy leader. By investing in innovative technologies and alternative energy sources like clean fuels, Canada is well equipped to lower energy costs and position its industries at the forefront of the global shift to a net-zero future.

Today, Member of Parliament Marcus Powlowski, on behalf of the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, announced over $11 million to support projects that will advance the technologies needed to further strengthen Canada’s clean fuels and alternative fuels sectors.

Of this funding, $5.5 million was allocated through the Energy Innovation Program (EIP), including:

$2.55 million to Centre technologique des résidus industriels in Quebec
$424,000 to PyroGenesis Inc. in Quebec
$1.5 million to CRH Canada Group Inc. in Ontario
$1 million to Greenfield Global Inc in Alberta

Funding is also allocated for clean energy studies under the Clean Fuels Fund (CFF), including:

$3.52 million to Atura H2 L.P. in Ontario
$2.25 million to Wanagekong-Biiwega’iganan Clean Energy Corporation in Ontario
$92,500 to Beausejour Brokenhead Development Corporation in Manitoba

Projects receiving funding today will help enable the shift to more affordable, lower-carbon fuels in high-emitting sectors such as biomass collection, transportation and processing. They will also accelerate Canada’s efforts to further develop high-potential alternative energy sources such as hydrogen.

These investments reaffirm the government’s commitment to advancing Canada’s clean fuels and alternative fuels sectors, ensuring sustainable economic growth by supporting Canadian energy supply chains, creating good, well-paying jobs in the energy sectors and reducing pollution.

Quotes

“Canada has the natural resources, the technologies and the skilled workforce that will enable us to be an energy superpower in a world racing toward lower emissions. Low-carbon fuels are a big economic opportunity: they are critical for the future development of key economic sectors including aviation, shipping and heavy industry. This federal government is maximizing Canada’s ability to take advantage of the major economic opportunities that are before us.”

The Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson
Minister of Energy and Natural Resources

“This is a great announcement for a whole bunch of reasons. It is also another example of how the people of Northwestern Ontario will continue to benefit from the green transition.”

Marcus Powlowski
Member of Parliament for Thunder Bay–Rainy River

Quick facts

The Government of Canada is investing nearly $1.8 billion to support growing the biofuels industry. NRCan is delivering on this commitment through the renewal of the CFF announced in Budget 2024, with $776.3 million committed between 2024–2025 and 2029–2030 to support clean fuels projects.
NRCan is also advancing these efforts through the EIP, which advances clean energy technologies that will help Canada meet its climate change targets while supporting the transition to a low-carbon economy. The EIP funds research, development and demonstration projects and other related scientific activities.
The federal government is helping to develop Canada’s clean fuels sector through the Regional Energy and Resource Tables. These Regional Tables are joint partnerships with individual provinces and territories in collaboration with Indigenous partners — and with the input of key stakeholders — to identify and accelerate shared economic priorities for a low-carbon future in the energy and resource sectors.

Funding Under the EIP’s Clean Fuels and Industrial Fuel Switching Call:

Diesel durable de 3e génération (DDGen3)

Recipient: Centre technologique des résidus industriels, in collaboration with Enerkem, CRB Innovations and CanmetEnergy-Ottawa.
Location: Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec
EIP Funding: $2.55 million
Project Summary: To build a pilot facility that will produce a novel, sustainable diesel fuel from wood products, processed first at smaller local facilities and then sent to a central site for efficient and cost-effective processing and refining.

High-Power Plasma Torch for Heavy Industry

Recipient: PyroGenesis Inc.
Location: Montreal, Quebec
EIP Funding: $424,000
Project Summary: To create high-power, durable plasma torches with long-lasting electrodes by designing, building and testing prototypes, providing a sustainable alternative to fossil fuel burners for high-temperature industrial applications.

Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions at CRH Canada via Coal Displacement With Alternative Low-Carbon Fuels

Recipient: CRH Canada Group Inc.
Location: Mississauga, Ontario
EIP Funding: $1.5 million
Project Summary: To reduce greenhouse gas emissions by using alternative low-carbon fuel (ALCF) made from biomass and non-recyclable materials as a replacement for coal and other fossil fuels in cement production. Expected outcomes include lowering Canada's CO2 emissions, driving a circular economy, reducing landfill waste, cutting emissions from landfills and supporting waste diversion programs.

Conversion of Waste to Sustainable Aviation Fuel via Modified Fischer–Tropsch Synthesis

Recipient: Greenfield Global Inc.
Location: Edmonton, Alberta
EIP Funding: $1 million
Project Summary: To produce clean fuels like sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and renewable diesel from waste biomass. The project will convert forestry waste into biocrude and then a gas, using a type of Fischer-Tropsch reaction to create low-carbon fuels that can replace traditional fuels for planes and heavy vehicles. The SAF produced would be the first to be fully usable without blending with petroleum-based jet fuel.

Funding Under the CFF’s Building New Domestic Production Capacity Call:

H2-FERT-FEASIBILITY

Recipient: Atura H2 L.P.
Location: St. Clair Township, Ontario
CFF Funding: $3.52 million
Project Summary: To conduct a feasibility study and a front-end engineering design (FEED) study to assess the construction of a 20-megawatt facility producing low-cost, low-carbon hydrogen gas via electrolysis.

Biomass to Renewable Transportation Fuels First Nations Renewable Hydrocarbon Fuels Production From Waste Biomass

Recipient: Wanagekong-Biiwega’iganan Clean Energy Corporation
Location: Town of Fort Frances, Ontario
CFF Funding: $2.25 million
Project Summary: To conduct a FEED study for a commercial plant in Fort Frances, Ontario, that will produce renewable low-carbon-intensity transportation fuel including sustainable airline fuel, renewable diesel and renewable naphtha using wood waste and non-merchantable fiber from the Boundary Waters Forest. Renewable naphtha, a byproduct of renewable diesel and gasoline production, can serve as a fuel, feedstock or chemical.

Funding Under the CFF’s Establishing Biomass Supply Chains Call:

Accelerating Biobased Economic Development in Beausejour-Brokenhead by Issuing a BDO Zone Rating

Recipient: Beausejour Brokenhead Development Corporation
Location: Beausejour-Brokenhead, Manitoba
CFF Funding: $92,500
Project Summary: The municipalities of Beausejour and Brokenhead aim to boost local economic growth by creating a Bioeconomy Development Opportunity (BDO) Zone Rating for their wheat straw biomass resources. This rating will help accelerate bio-based project development and position the region for success in the clean economy.

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Backgrounder: Federal Government Invests in Made-in-Canada Technologies to Advance Clean Fuels Sector

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Excerpt from Fort Frances Times: Funding will support Front-End Engineering Design work -- The federal government is investing more than $2 million in a project that could see a revolutionary new industry take root in Fort Frances.

In a media event held yesterday, Tuesday, January 7, 2025, at Seven Generations Education Institute’s Rainy Lake campus, Thunder Bay-Rainy River MP Marcus Powlowski made an announcement of $2.5 million that will be going to Wanagekong-Biiwega’iganan Clean Energy Corporation (WBCEC). The investment from the federal government will help fund the Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) phase of a project that is working to establish an industrial plant that will turn local wood waste into low-carbon fuels. WBCEC is an entity made up of the ten local First Nation communities in the southern end of Treaty #3 working in partnership with Vancouver-based Highbury Energy Inc., who made the announcement of their partnership and plans to establish a biofuel refinery in Fort Frances in December 2024.

...

Powlowski explained that the WBCEC project being funded through the government of Canada is to conduct a FEED study for a commercial fuel plant in Fort Frances, which will aim to produce renewable, low carbon intensity transportation fuel, “including sustainable airline fuel, renewable diesel and renewable naphtha using wood waste and fibre from the Boundary Waters forest.”

“The idea of low carbon fuels is, you’re using existing carbon which is already in the ecosystem as a fuel source, rather than taking it out of the ground and producing new carbon that’s going into the air,” he said.

“The government has made a number of investments, and part of my job here is to announce a few of these other investments that are something like this, which again attempts to produce biofuels made from things that are more environmentally friendly. I think the other thing our government has been trying to do in the green transition is, yes, address climate change, but use this as a real economic opportunity because countries around the world are going green. There is a realization even with big business, that if we continue to use natural gas and carbon fuels we will continue to contribute to global warming and this in the long-term is not sustainable if we want a world that we can live in.”

Powlowski noted he felt that the shift in industry to green technologies like biofuel production is a modern equivalent to the industrial revolution, meaning those who get in on the ground floor of the technology will be able to leverage it to their advantage economically. He noted that when mills closed in the region, some of those who lost their jobs turned to the oilsands in Alberta for work, adding that new facilities like the proposed biofuel plant would help to create jobs that would keep people in the region.

In a previous press release from the WBCEC, president and Mitaanjigamiing First Nation chief Janice Henderson noted the high demand for biofuels across different industries and the benefits that demand could have for the region.

...

“Transportation companies, railways, airlines, and heavy truck operators are increasingly seeking low-carbon fuel sources to meet stricter emissions regulations,” Henderson said.

“Our proposed biorefinery could sustainably produce 20 million litres of low-carbon fuels annually using regional wood waste, offering both environmental benefits and competitive pricing for these sectors.”

Highbury Energy CEO Len Bykowski said the FEED is one of the first steps along the path to opening the facility. They have so far completed a feasibility study for the project, and that this is the next phase. If all goes according to plan, he said the work should be completed by March or early April of this year, which would allow a financial investment decision to be made in May.

...

Bykowski said that phase and the final engineering work for the project should be complete by the end of 2025, which would allow a groundbreaking in early 2026 and “15 to 18 months beyond that” for the final construction, as the plant itself will be of a modular design. If all goes according to plan, Bykowski said the plant would be up and running for mid-2027.”

...

Bykowski said the decision to work with the WBCEC came from the regions willingness to participate with new businesses. Highbury Energy first conducted talks with the Town of Fort Frances to see if they would be willing to host such a plant, with Bykowski noting they found municipal representatives to be open and receptive to the idea. Then, as the area First Nation communities had representation for how the Boundary Waters forest could actually be used, it was determined the best way forward for everyone was to work with all of the First Nations through the WBCEC.

“The fact is that there was a lot of work done on the ground in terms of engaging with the First Nations, and that was all sort of covered,” Bykowski said.

“They’ve all sort of come to the come to the realization that this is a great economic opportunity for them, plus it’s an opportunity to address the environment, plus it’s an opportunity, from an economic perspective, to start generating revenue for the individual First Nations.”

The biofuel plant is currently being eyed for the northeastern corner of McIrvine Road and 8th Street West, and an 80-acre plot has been selected, with environmental testing ongoing to ensure the site will be appropriate.

Bykowski, representatives of the ten area First Nations, project members and other stakeholders were involved in a morning-long meeting regarding the proposed plant yesterday, and he noted that the engagement there was encouraging for the future of the region and the project itself.

“We had a very, very successful meeting this morning,” he said.

“You know, it’s nice to see all 10 First Nations represented. It’s nice to see the whole project team represented here, and some of them on Zoom, and it’s all systems forward. And we’re keen. We’re excited, and nothing’s going to stop us now.” READ MORE

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