Minister Wilkinson Announces up to $800 Million in Project Funding to Advance Canada's Clean Fuels Sector

November 15, 2022

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(Natural Resources Canada/CISION) With one of the world's most comprehensive and detailed climate plans, a wealth of natural resources and a skilled workforce, Canada is establishing itself as a global supplier of choice for clean energy in a net-zero world. Governments worldwide are looking for reliable, affordable, non-emitting forms of energy, and it is in this context that like-minded nations must come together to ensure a future that is sustainable both economically and environmentally.

Today, the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Natural Resources, announced that approximately 60 projects have been selected to receive funding under the Government of Canada’s $1.5-billion Clean Fuels Fund (CFF). These projects represent a first tranche of the highest-ranking applications from last year’s call for proposals and have a total combined value of more than $3.8 billion. They include production facilities, as well as feasibility and front-end engineering and design studies, spanning seven jurisdictions and covering five different fuel types.

The federal government is undertaking negotiations to finalize the terms of funding for each project, and the total federal investment in these projects will be up to $800 million. This funding will help project proponents address critical barriers to growth in the domestic clean fuels market and lays the groundwork for the low-carbon fuels of the future.

A second tranche of projects, from last year's call for proposal, is currently being reviewed, with funding decisions expected to be finalized in December. Once successful applicants have been informed, Natural Resources Canada will start contribution agreement negotiations.

Canada's clean fuels industry is rapidly growing, owing to the global demand to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and bolster energy security. The importance of continued investment into the production, development and distribution of clean fuels together with their infrastructure and technology is clear, as Canada strives to position itself as a global leader with investments such as the CFF.

At today's announcement, Minister Wilkinson also highlighted a combined investment of more than $8.8 million to six organizations for 10 hydrogen and natural gas refuelling stations to help accelerate the decarbonization of road transportation. Federal funding for these projects was provided through Natural Resources Canada's Zero-Emission Vehicle Infrastructure Program (ZEVIP) and the Electric Vehicle and Alternative Fuel Infrastructure Deployment (EVAFIDI).

Today's announcement is one of a series of significant steps the government continues to take to support sustainable jobs and protect the environment. Minister Wilkinson will continue to work with all partners to establish Canada as the global supplier of choice for clean energy in a net-zero world — ensuring a prosperous and clean future for Canadians from coast to coast to coast.

Quotes

"Today's significant investments will bolster Canadian competitiveness in the clean fuels space at a time of rising global demand. These projects help create sustainable jobs and grow the economy, all while lowering emissions and protecting the environment."

The Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson
Minister of Natural Resources

"Expanding the hydrogen refuelling station network is critical for the widespread adoption of hydrogen electric transportation. As the first company that built this network in Canada, we know that scaling up requires immense support from both the government and industry. This funding support will meaningfully advance our work toward opening many more stations across the province and building the team needed to deliver hydrogen solutions."

Colin Armstrong
President and Chief Executive Officer, HTEC

"Transportation is one of the largest sources of GHG emissions, both provincially and nationally, so investing in lower-carbon transportation infrastructure is key to meeting our GHG emission reduction goals. Natural gas offers a proven alternative to heavy-carbon fuels that can help reduce emissions from the transportation sector today, especially in heavy-duty vehicles and marine applications. As we continue to add more renewable and low-carbon gases, like renewable natural gas and hydrogen, these alternative transport fuels can progressively decarbonize transportation along with our system as a whole."

Roger Dall'Antonia
President and CEO, FortisBC Energy Inc.

"We are grateful for the federal government's partnership in supporting UBC research and development of clean energy solutions. UBC's renewable energy hub will demonstrate innovative ways of linking solar power to green hydrogen production and establish new business cases for battery-electric and fuel cell vehicles as active participants in smart district energy systems."

Deborah Buszard
Interim President and Vice-Chancellor, University of British Columbia

"With a third of the vehicles in Canada registered in Ontario, and a third of Ontario's emissions coming from transportation, we simply need to get moving with hydrogen fuelling infrastructure. Ontario's hydrogen strategy and proposed rate structure reinforce how hydrogen from off-peak electricity is key to decarbonizing the most difficult-to-electrify sectors, especially heavy-duty transport. It's time to stop talking about the chicken-and-egg barrier and start deploying hardware."

Jason Van Geel
President, Carlsun Energy Solutions Inc.

"The Tomlinson Family continually evaluates the use of new technologies to move our businesses forward. Our investment in a compressed natural gas (CNG) station has had an immediate impact on the carbon footprint of our services and is just the first step of our carbon emissions reduction plan that will see us build on our legacy of landfill diversion by converting waste streams to lower carbon intensity fuels like renewable natural gas (RNG) and other products as technology evolves. Tomlinson's new CNG station represents a major addition to Ottawa's alternative fuels infrastructure, and we look forward to welcoming fleets that share our vision of long-term environmental sustainability to refuel at our station."

Ron Tomlinson
Chief Executive Officer, Tomlinson Environmental Services Ltd

"Natural Gas Vehicles will be instrumental in meeting emission reduction targets while maintaining our ability to provide goods and services across Canada's vast geography and harsh climate. Located on a major Western Canadian transportation corridor, the County of Vermilion River – Compressed Natural Gas Refuelling Station is a key component in development of a CNG refuelling network across Canada."

Louis Genest
Director, County of Vermilion River – Gas Utility

Quick Facts

Launched in June 2021, the Clean Fuels Fund aims to invest $1.5 billion to grow the production of clean fuels in Canada, such as hydrogen, renewable diesel and natural gas, cellulosic ethanol, synthetic fuels and sustainable aviation fuel.
The call for proposals for projects to increase domestic clean fuel production capacity is providing funding through conditionally repayable contribution agreements of up to 30 percent of the total eligible project costs, to a maximum of $150 million, per production project and up to $5M for feasibility studies.
The funding under ZEVIP and EVAFIDI includes:
- $3 million to HTEC to install three hydrogen refuelling stations in British Columbia
- Over, $2.2 million to FortisBC Energy Inc. to build three natural gas refuelling stations in Delta, Kelowna and Abbotsford, British Columbia
- $1 million to the University of British Columbia to install one hydrogen refuelling station in Vancouver, British Columbia
- $1 million to Carlsun Energy Solutions Inc. to build one hydrogen station in Ontario
- $1 million to Tomlinson Environmental Services Ltd. to install one natural gas refuelling station in Ottawa, Ontario
- $647,000 to the County of Vermilion River to build one natural gas refuelling station in Kitscoty, Alberta
Transportation accounts for 25 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions in Canada.
Moving to zero-emission vehicles through regulations and investments is a significant part of Canada’s Emissions Reduction Plan to meet Canada’s Paris Agreement target for 2030 and get on track for net-zero emissions by 2050.
Investments in charging infrastructure made so far will result in more than 34,500 new chargers coast to coast and have been provided through the Electric Vehicle and Alternative Fuel Infrastructure Deployment Initiative and Zero-Emission Vehicle Infrastructure Program.
Budget 2022 provided Natural Resources Canada's ZEVIP with an additional $400 million, and Canada's Infrastructure Bank will invest $500 million to deploy an additional 50,000 electric vehicle chargers by 2027.
To date, over 150,000 Canadians and Canadian businesses have taken advantage of the federal incentive to purchase a zero-emission vehicle.