Alberta invests $58M in circular economy projects

Photo: ERA.

The Government of Alberta is investing $58 million through Emissions Reduction Alberta (ERA) to projects across the province worth $528 million. All funding is sourced from the province’s Technology Innovation and Emissions Reduction (TIER) fund.

Producing fertilizer for farmers, recycling asphalt from roof shingles, sequestering carbon in concrete, and novel plastics recycling are some examples of the technology solutions receiving funding through ERA’s Circular Economy Challenge.

“Advancing technology solutions that support a circular economy makes good environmental and economic sense,” said Sonya Savage, Minister of Environment and Protected Areas. “Circular Economy Challenge projects supported by the TIER fund will help keep valuable materials in the economy and out of landfills, which drives investment, bolsters economic activity, cuts emissions, and creates jobs. It’s a win across the board.”

If successful, these projects will result in cumulative greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions of up to four million tonnes by 2050—equal to offsetting the GHG footprint of one million homes. Circular Economy Challenge funding is expected to create 1835 person-year jobs in Alberta and have a $350 million GDP impact in the province by 2025.

“A more sustainable, diversified provincial economy requires using our resources more wisely, we need to think about waste as a resource rather than a cost,” said Justin Riemer, CEO, Emissions Reduction Alberta. “This investment in converting waste into other uses is going to make a real difference.”

Projects include:

INCA Renewtech
Construct and operate a commercial facility to create a sustainable, advanced bio-composite material made from hemp stalk
ERA funding: $10 million | Project cost: $174.5 million

Northstar Clean Technologies Inc.
Design, build, and commence operations of a new asphalt roof shingles recycling facility
ERA funding: $7.1 million | Project cost: $20.6 million

Sparks Eggs
Dehydrate inedible eggs from an existing grading and packing facility into a powder to be used for pet food and animal feed
ERA funding: $500,000 | Project cost: $1 million

Rimrock Renewables LP.
Development of a prototype for digestate water treatment and fertilizer value-add opportunity for on-farm feedlot anaerobic digestors (AD)
ERA funding: $8.4 million | Project cost: $19 million

Hydrovac Waste Solutions Ltd.
Divert slurry from the landfill and recover valuable products from the hydro-vacuum process
ERA funding: $1.7 million | Project cost: $8 million

Carbon Upcycling Technologies
Demonstrate a commercial-scale carbon sequestration and utilization technology for the cement and concrete sector
ERA funding: $4.4 million | Project cost: $11 million

Phyto Organix Foods Inc.
Construction of a large-scale, commercial, net zero yellow pea fractionation facility
ERA funding: $10 million | Project cost: $231 million

Suncor Energy Inc.
Recover Vanadium, a valuable critical metal/element, and use it in the growing energy storage market
ERA funding: $7 million | Project cost: $36 million

Circular Rubber Technologies Inc.
Reclaim rubber from end-of-life, high-grade tires from industrial activities and sell the end product back to manufacturers for use in new tires
ERA funding: $3.2 million | Project cost: $16 million

RBW Waste Management Ltd.
Install and commission a recycling system for high-density polyethylene containers and process them into new products
ERA funding: $700,000 | Project cost: $1.4 million