Natural Gas Innovation Fund (NGIF): Funding for Cleantech

Canada is the fifth-largest producer of natural gas and the sixth-largest producer of crude oil in the world, with widespread oil and natural gas reserves across the country. Canada is estimated to have almost 1,100 trillion cubic feet of natural gas potential, primarily due to technological advances in natural gas recovery. Being such a valuable resource, there is opportunity to advance and mitigate environmental impacts in the production, transmission, and distribution of natural gas in Canada.

To address the goal of advancing responsible approaches within Canada’s natural gas industry, the Canadian Gas Association (CHA) has created the Natural Gas Innovation Fund (NGIF). The Natural Gas Innovation Fund supports and provides funding for cleantech innovations in the natural gas value chain. The program aims to fill a technology advancement gap in the sector and invests in innovative natural gas solutions for current and developing challenges facing Canada’s energy system.

NGIF is currently accepting applications for their Natural Gas Production stream, in which participants may receive up to $1,000,000 and as much as 25% of their project’s eligible expenses for cleantech innovations.

To begin the application process, applicants need to submit a registration form requesting a Round 4 Application Guide. They will then be able to download an Investor Deck template for completion. The deadline for submissions of NGIF’s Investment Intake Stage 1-Investor Deck is February 13, 2019 at 3pm EST.

About the Natural Gas Innovation Fund (NGIF)

The Natural Gas Innovation Fund is a Canadian government funding program that seeks to support Canada’s most promising businesses in cleantech innovation and advance their projects from commercialization to market success. NGIF has a three-year goal to accelerate targeted cleantech commercialization, achieve investment model excellence, and communicate and amplify results.

The program has three investment focuses in which funding is awarded:

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Natural Gas Production

• Sustainable production
• GHG and air emissions management
• Natural gas generation
• Water management and treatment
• LNG – liquefaction
• Natural gas processing

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Natural Gas Transmission

• Advanced materials and technologies
• Liquefied natural gas (LNG)
• Methane capture
• Energy efficiency
• Intelligent systems

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Natural Gas Distribution

• Methane capture
• Liquefied natural gas (LNG)
• Natural gas generation
• Intelligent systems
• Capture technology
• Energy efficiency
• Heat & power generation

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NGIF is currently accepting applications for their Natural Gas Production stream.

NGIF’s Natural Gas Production Stream

The Natural Gas Innovation Fund (NGIF) has initiated a call for funding applications for cleantech innovations through their Natural Gas Production stream. There will be up to $3,000,000 in reimbursable grant funding available to support cleantech solutions that will create value, advance operations, and mitigate environmental impacts in the production of natural gas in Canada.

Applicants may receive up to $1,000,000 and 25% of eligible expenses for their natural gas production projects.

Cleantech Innovation Project Examples:

The Natural Gas Production stream has six main focuses in which NGIF will consider investment support:

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Sustainable Production

• Digital transformation
• Advanced materials
• Nanotechnology
• Advanced drilling and completion technologies

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GHG and Air Emissions Management

• Methane capture
• Integration of renewable energy
• Efficient processes and equipment
• Carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS)

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Natural Gas Generation

• H2 production – Power-to-gas
• Renewable natural gas (RNG)
• Less energy intensive/low carbon hydrogen production from natural gas/RNG

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Water Management and Treatment

• Disposal well management
• Improved surface storage and transport technologies
• Advanced water treatment technologies

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LNG – Liquefaction

• Cryogenic solutions, refrigeration technologies for both small/ micro and large LNG liquefaction units

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Natural Gas Processing

• Natural gas clean-up and processing technologies

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Read the full list of approved projects for all three investment streams.

Project/Applicant Eligibility Criteria

Organizations that can check off the following criteria are encouraged to apply for the Natural Gas Innovation Fund:

• IP is protected;
• Innovation is pre-commercial for the natural gas market;
• Applicant is incorporated domestic or internationally;
• Project is a demonstration and/or a deployment project;
• Technology is currently at a stage of Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 7-9;
• Project has Canadian context/demonstration and deployment is planned in Canada; and
• Innovation is unique and focused towards enhanced resiliency, creating value, improving environmental performance, and generating greater affordability.

There is currently no information about future calls for the additional two investment streams.

How to Apply for the Natural Gas Innovation Fund (NGIF)

The Natural Gas Innovation Fund has three stages of the investment process:

Stage 1: Intake – Investor Deck
Stage 2: Evaluation – Investment Proposal
Stage 3: Management – Contribution Agreement

To begin the application process, applicants need to submit a registration form requesting a Round 4 Application Guide. Applicants can expect to receive an Applicant’s Guide within 24-48 hours of sending an email request. They will then be able to download an Investor Deck template for completion. The deadline for submissions of NGIF’s Investment Intake Stage 1- Investor Deck is February 13, 2019 at 3pm EST.