E3 Metals Corporation is a Calgary, Alberta-based mining company with specialties in lithium and other mineral exploration and development. Since being founded in 2017, E3 Metals has secured the rights to mine 580,000 hectares of lithium-rich land in Alberta. To locate and extract this lithium, the company studies over 60 years of data from oil and gas operators and samples mineral-rich salt solutions.
Through the Industrial Research Assistance Program, E3 Metals will receive up to $40,000 in Canadian government grants.
The Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP) supports innovative research and development activities and enables companies to overcome internal technical challenges related to the development of globally competitive products, processes, and services. Through IRAP funding, E3 Metals will be able to hire additional employees and drive greater innovation for their upcoming innovative projects.
IRAP Grant Awards $40,000 for Hiring Innovative Employees
A very new business, E3 Metals was created in 2017 is an emerging company in the Petro-Lithium space. They work towards the exploration and development of Alberta-based lithium resources which (once found) can be extracted using technologies created internally and by industry-leading lithium processing firms.
NRC IRAP funding is awarding $40,000 to E3 Metals to offset the salaries of two positions recently created to fuel the business’ innovative research and development projects.
The Industrial Research Assistance Program’s $40,000 grant will help E3 Metals to offset salary costs for two newly created positions within the company:
- An Intermediate Chemical Process Engineer will develop and improve the extraction flow chart the company uses; and
- A Junior Geologist who will support the tech team in various activities they conduct.
About the Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP)
The Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP) supports Canadian companies creating, improving or implementing innovative technologies. It offers multiple streams of funding support which assists Canadian innovators to overcome internal technical challenges related to innovation. Two of these streams include:
- IRAP Accelerated Review Process (ARP): Focuses on solving an internal technical challenge by adopting technology and processing enhancements. These projects are often focused on early-stage research or development activities, and the exploration of new technology-based market opportunities.
- IRAP Mid-Size Projects: Focuses on overcoming technical uncertainties and risks through the development and commercialization of innovative products.
Through IRAP’s Accelerated Review Process (ARP) and Mid-Size Projects streams, businesses may offset up to 50-80% of labour costs to a maximum $10 million.
The Industrial Research Assistance Program recently received a top-up in funding through Budget 2018, Canada’s federal budget outlining government investments and incentives for business. Budget 2018 expands the scope of IRAP to now provide up to $10 million in support for projects. Previously, IRAP would provide smaller contributions typically $50,000 to $500,000 in size. These changes provide support for larger, more innovative projects.
To learn more about IRAP funding, including program updates and ongoing success stories, please register for Mentor Works’ Government Funding Snapshot Newsletter.