Energy Innovation Program: Innovation Ecosystem Enablers

Advancing energy innovation requires more than breakthrough technologies — it requires a strong and robust innovation ecosystem. Bringing new energy solutions from development to deployment relies on a set of foundational enabling conditions:

• Shared infrastructure that gives innovators access to the spaces and tools they need.
• Intellectual and technical capital that sustains a skilled, capable workforce.
• Market validation that builds confidence in emerging technologies.
• Generation of knowledge and evidence that informs sound policy, regulatory and market-shaping decisions.

When any of these elements is absent or underdeveloped, the innovation pipeline can stall — regardless of the quality of the technologies within it. This call for proposals (CFP) aims to support these important key enabler projects across the energy innovation system to drive clean energy solutions for Canada.

Internal Contacts

• Faculty Research Facilitator
• Industry and Partnership Services

Deadlines

Focus Areas

The CFP will consist of multiple focus areas, each of which will accept applications on a rolling basis. Focus areas will target specific categories of ecosystem enabling projects, aligned with evolving program priorities and sector needs.

Currently, the following focus areas are accepting applications:

• Process and technology testing facilities

Eligibility

• Legal entities validly incorporated or registered in Canada, including:
  • For-profit and not-for-profit organizations
  • Canadian academic institutions
  • Utilities
• Provincial, territorial, regional and municipal governments and their departments and agencies where applicable.
• Indigenous eligibility:
  • Communities or governments
  • Tribal councils or entities that fulfill a similar function (e.g., general councils, land claim organizations)
  • National or regional Indigenous councils, or tribal organizations
  • For-profit or not-for-profit organizations (majority owned and controlled by Indigenous people)

The applicant must be the entity responsible for the establishment, expansion and/or modernization of the testing facility infrastructure for which funding is sought.

Submitting Your Expression of Interest

1. Log in to cuResearch and submit an internal Carleton Approval Form. Review the cuResearch user’s manual.
2. To submit an external application, log into the Grants and Contributions Enterprise Management System (GCEMS) and navigate to “funding opportunities”.
3. Questions about the submission process should be directed to: eipiee-piefei@nrcan-rncan.gc.ca