Energy Innovation Program: Innovation Ecosystem Enablers

Sponsor’s Website

Visit the Government of Canada website for more information on the Energy Innovation Program: Innovation Ecosystem Enablers.

Internal Contacts

Industry and Partnership Services (IPS): ips@cunet.carleton.ca

Potential applicants are also encouraged to discuss this funding opportunity with their Faculty Research Facilitator.

Deadlines

Overview

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 aims to support these important key enablers across the energy innovation system to drive clean energy solutions for Canada.

Focus Areas

The call consists 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.

The following focus area is currently accepting applications:

• Process and technology testing facilities

Eligibility

• Legal entities validly incorporated or registered in Canada, including:
  • Canadian academic institutions
  • For-profit and not-for-profit organizations
  • 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. Submit an internal Approval Form through our central awards management database cuResearch. Consult the user’s manual for guidance.
2. Submit an external application by logging into the Grants and Contributions Enterprise Management System (GCEMS) and navigating to “funding opportunities” page. Questions about the submission process should be directed to: eipiee-piefei@nrcan-rncan.gc.ca.