The Government of Alberta is advancing the province’s global leadership in the circular economy by committing $58 million through Emissions Reduction Alberta (ERA) to projects across the province worth $528 million. All funding is sourced from the province’s Technology Innovation and Emissions Reduction (TIER) fund.

The INCA Renewtech project has been award $10 million in while the total project cost is $174.5 million. Construct and operate a first-of-kind commercial facility to create a sustainable, advanced bio-composite material made from hemp stalk

“This funding will enable INCA Renewtech to significantly accelerate construction of our state-of-the-art hemp processing and composites manufacturing factory. We will purchase waste straw from farmers currently growing hemp for plant-based protein and transform this renewable resource into advanced bio-composites for the automotive, marine, wind energy, and consumer plastics industries.”
David Saltman, Chairman & CEO, INCA Renewtech

Producing high-quality fertilizer for farmers, recycling asphalt from roof shingles, sequestering carbon in concrete, and novel plastics recycling are some examples of the other technology solutions receiving funding through ERA’s Circular Economy Challenge.

If successful, these projects funded will result in cumulative greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions of up to 4 million tonnes by 2050—equal to offsetting the GHG footprint of 1 million homes. Circular Economy Challenge funding is expected to create 1835 person-year jobs* in Alberta and have a $350 million GDP impact in the province by 2025.

The investment aligns with provincial initiatives including the proposed Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) approach, the agricultural plastics recycling initiative, and the Natural Gas Vision and Strategy’s goal to establish Alberta as a centre of excellence for plastics diversion and recycling.

Circular Economy Challenge projects support waste reduction, material and feedstock substitution, value recovery, and reduction of the lifecycle environmental footprint of materials and products. These technology solutions can reduce the impacts of material production, processing, and disposal. The innovations invested in will support industry competitiveness, new venture creation, and economic diversification.

Projects were selected through ERA’s competitive review process. A team of experts in science, engineering, business development, commercialization, financing, and greenhouse gas quantification conducted an independent, rigorous, transparent review overseen by a Fairness Monitor.

All ERA funding recipients are required to produce a final outcomes report that is shared publicly for the broader benefit of Alberta, as well as other funding proposals. Funding recipients will be required to report on project outcomes, achievements, and lessons learned including GHG reductions, job creation, and other environmental, economic, and social benefits.