Upgraded | Canadian Government Funding

The unique characteristics of bitumen from Alberta’s oil sands create value challenges for producers, as additional processing is required to convert the raw bitumen into consumer products like gasoline, diesel, and heating fuel. Moreover, significant volumes of diluent must be added to transport the viscous bitumen via pipelines, which represent substantial operating costs. Partial upgrading technologies are those that process bitumen to enhance value while reducing or eliminating the need for diluent. This family of technologies can also provide better feedstocks for generating non-combustion products, like carbon fibre and asphalt binder, per the Bitumen Beyond Combustion Program.The Bitumen Partial Upgrading (BPU) program invests in technologies that meet these objectives, while facilitating stakeholders with common interests working in collaboration, such as the Bitumen Value Enhancement Committee, formerly the National Partial Upgrading Program.

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Funding Amount

50000

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Eligible Applicants

The Process is open to all categories of lead applicant, including technology developers, industry, industrial associations, small and medium-sized enterprises, research and development (R&D) organizations, post-secondary institutions, municipalities, not-for-profit organizations, government research labs, and individuals. Applicants are not required to be based in Alberta but must demonstrate a clear value proposition for the province.

Eligible Activities

Funding made available through this Process is provided to support execution of projects with welldefined objectives, milestones, deliverables, and timelines. Applicants must clearly delineate the scope of the project for which funding from the Process is being requested and the economic, environmental, greenhouse gas emissions reduction, and innovation potential associated with that scope of work. Any related work outside the scope of the project (e.g. before the project term or in parallel with the project) may be discussed in the application but should be clearly indicated as such. There are no restrictions on the number of applications that can be submitted by any applicant. However, applicants are encouraged to be selective and bring forward only the most promising and highest quality applications that best align with Alberta Innovates’ strategic priorities and 2030 Innovation Targets. Projects or portions thereof that have received funding or funding approval from other programs at Alberta Innovates might not be eligible for continuous intake programs funding, therefore be sure to consult with a Project Advisor. Applicants may request support for a new phase of development or demonstration that builds on and sufficiently advances a previously funded project.

Deadline to Apply

2023-10-23

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88%

Approval rating across all Canadian funding programs

93%

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businesses that apply for funding in-house

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CanExport SMEs

Amount of Funding

Up to 50% funding to a maximum $50,000 grant per project;
Applicants may receive up to 50% of eligible costs for up to $10,000 to $50,000 in grant funding per project;
The applicant is responsible for the remaining 50% of costs;
The annual CanExport contribution maximum is $99,999 (in the event of multiple projects approved in the same government fiscal year);
A group of related companies cannot receive >$200,000 in funding in a single fiscal year. Projects budgets should be between $20,000-100,000; and
Applicants can apply for funding multiple times as long as their prior CanExport application has been completed all reporting is finished.

CanExport SMEs

Eligible Applicants

To be eligible for the CanExport program, Canadian businesses must:

Maintain 1 to <500 full-time employees;
Earn annual revenues ranging from $100,000 to $100,000,000;
Be federally incorporated federally or classified as a limited liability partnership (LLP);
Create eligible project expenses of $20,000 or more; and
Be financially stable and able to pay all project expenses not covered by the program.

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The unique characteristics of bitumen from Alberta’s oil sands create value challenges for producers, as additional processing is required to convert the raw bitumen into consumer products like gasoline, diesel, and heating fuel. Moreover, significant volumes of diluent must be added to transport the viscous bitumen via pipelines, which represent substantial operating costs. Partial upgrading technologies are those that process bitumen to enhance value while reducing or eliminating the need for diluent. This family of technologies can also provide better feedstocks for generating non-combustion products, like carbon fibre and asphalt binder, per the Bitumen Beyond Combustion Program.The Bitumen Partial Upgrading (BPU) program invests in technologies that meet these objectives, while facilitating stakeholders with common interests working in collaboration, such as the Bitumen Value Enhancement Committee, formerly the National Partial Upgrading Program. The Bitumen Partial Upgrading program supports technologies that enhance the value of a processed barrel of bitumen while reducing associated emissions.