What is the ecoENERGY Technology Initiative?

• The ecoENERGY Technology Initiative is a new strategic approach to undertaking and funding energy science and technology (S&T) activities.
• The Initiative will support the development and demonstration of the next-generation clean energy technologies that will make it possible to break through to emissions-free energy production and use.
• The Initiative will also provide essential new knowledge to support the regulatory approach to the Clean Air Agenda.

How much funding will the ecoENERGY Technology Initiative receive?

• The Initiative will receive $230 million of federal funding over  four years.

Will the ecoENERGY Technology Initiative be provide funding to the provinces, territories and private sector?

• The ecoENERGY Technology Initiative will not be a general funding program.
• A significant aspect of the Initiative is an attempt to mobilise increased provincial/territorial and private sector funding for energy S&T projects through public-private partnering. Collaboration among federal researchers, provincial institutions, universities and private companies will be required.
• It is expected that on average, federal funding for collaborative projects will be about one-third of the total.

What are the priorities of the ecoENERGY Technology Initiative?

• The Initiative is directed toward:
  • increasing clean energy supplies
  • reducing energy waste
  • reducing pollution from conventional energy
• In this context, the priority S&T areas, based on advice from key stakeholders, are:
  • clean coal and CO2  sequestration and storage
  • clean oil sands production
  • renewable energy and other clean-energy sources
  • energy-efficient buildings
  • low-emission industrial systems
  • advanced vehicles, including hydrogen fuel cells and plug-in electric vehicle technologies
  • next-generation nuclear technologies
  • bio-based energy systems
• Each area will have a customized distribution of effort  across the innovation spectrum (e.g underlying and applied research, support for codes and standards, international collaborations, demonstrations) designed to match the development requirements of  specific technologies.

How will the Initiative be delivered?

• The Initiative will be delivered through:
  • federal laboratories undertaking S&T in support of the “public good”, including regulatory support and longer-term, higher-risk research and development that the private sector is unwilling or unable to undertake;
  • responses to calls from Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) for project proposals on a competitive basis to the national energy S&T community (federal, provincial, territorial agencies, universities, industry);
  •  public-private co-funding arrangements involving the federal government, provincial/territorial governments, industry, and universities working together in areas of common interest.

When will funding be available?

• NRCan should issue the first call for theme-based proposals in the fall of 2007 and receive public-private co-funding proposals by the end of 2007.  Please check this Web site for further details and updated information.

What are the projected outcomes of the ecoENERGY Technology Initiative?

• Technologies developed and demonstrated under the Initiative will lead to significantly reduced emissions of smog-forming particles and gaseous pollutants (such as nitrogen and sulphur oxides), toxic substances such as mercury and cadmium, and greenhouse gases.
• More comprehensive knowledge to support regulations
• Increased involvement and collaboration of the research community and key stakeholders, and greater co-funding of projects
• Increased Canadian capability to develop new and improved energy systems and technologies that contribute to clean air objectives
• Improved opportunities for Canadian industry in the global market.

What is different about the ecoENERGY Technology Initiative?

• The Initiative will be delivered as a single, integrated program, covering the innovation spectrum from basic research to near-commercialization of technologies.
• This will help to ensure that promising technologies do not get left behind but are moved quickly to market