Industrial Facility track

Introduction

Under the Industrial Facility track, eligible projects include those that support the implementation of energy efficiency and energy management solutions. These activities are intended for industrial facilities that are engaged in energy consuming processes that involve the physical or chemical transformation of materials or substances into new products.

Eligible recipients under the Industrial Facility track are Canadian facilities in any industrial sector that are engaged in energy consuming processes that involve the physical or chemical transformation of materials or substances into new products, regardless of the size of the facilities.  The maximum amount of NRCan funding that can be requested under Track 2 is $10 million.

Eligible activities

Eligible activities under the Industrial Facility track include energy efficiency measures in five distinct areas:

Training for energy management practitioners

Workforce development and training for energy management practitioners will raise competencies to ensure the Canadian industrial sector has adequate access to skilled energy practitioners to lead energy efficiency projects and guide energy management solutions.

This activity builds industry capacity, while supporting job creation, diversification, and upskilling in the workforce.

Energy assessments and audits

Energy assessments and audits identify opportunities to improve energy efficiency, reduce operating costs, increase business competitiveness, and reduce GHG emissions. This activity may also include Process Integration and Computational Fluid Dynamic studies, which are designed to determine where, when, why and how energy is being used in an industrial facility.

This activity is key to developing energy management programs because energy assessments and audits provide a starting point to assess the energy efficiency performance of an organization and pinpoint opportunities for energy efficiency and operational improvement.

Energy managers

Energy managers identify energy saving opportunities, build an energy-savings culture, and implement energy management systems. Industrial facilities require energy managers to identify energy and GHG emissions reductions opportunities and related cost-savings, to provide advice, and to make a compelling case to implement projects. The energy manager’s primary job function is energy, cost and GHG emissions reductions.

This activity contributes to improving energy efficiency, productivity, and competitiveness by improving overall energy performance of the organization.

Energy management systems

Energy management systems establish frameworks for organizations to systematically track, analyze and manage energy, set priorities, and adopt energy efficient practices that are proven to continuously improve energy performance. This activity may include Energy Management Information Systems (EMIS) in accordance with NRCan’s Guidelines, ISO 50001 compliant energy management systems recognized by the 50001 Ready Canada program, ISO 50001 certified energy management systems, Superior Energy Performance certified energy management systems, and other custom approaches.

This activity supports the implementation of recognized and certified energy management systems to ensure persistence and continual improvement of energy performance.

Capital investments

Energy efficiency-focused retrofit capital investments support modifications or upgrading of a facility’s energy-consuming systems and equipment (stationary and mobile), processes, or infrastructure. They include (but are not limited to) boiler plant systems, compressed air systems, domestic and process hot water systems, fan and pump systems, heating and ventilating and air-conditioning systems, lighting systems, process furnaces, dryers and kilns, refrigeration systems, and steam and condensate systems and waste heat recovery, as well as metering equipment, automation, and control systems (instrumentation and software). Investments pertaining to building envelopes and fleet vehicles are not eligible.

This activity must be implemented along with a recognized energy management system as part of the project or must demonstrate that an energy management system was already in place.

In addition, energy efficiency-focused retrofit capital investments must be non-emitting (e.g., use energy sources such as electricity, renewable energy/biomass, hydrogen, etc. resulting in zero emissions at end use).

This activity encourages organizations to approach energy efficiency-focussed retrofit capital investments holistically, considering facility-wide measures that combine short and long-term payback periods. This activity supports improvement of energy efficiency, resulting in cost savings and reduced GHG emissions.

Eligible costs

In addition, to support implementation of the activities described above, eligible costs can include:

• salaries and benefits of employees of the eligible recipient
• professional services
• license fees, data purchases, certification costs, regulatory compliance and inspection costs, construction insurance, and permits

More details on eligible costs are included in the application package, available upon email request to: nrcan.rfpindustry-ddpindustrie.rncan@canada.ca

Ineligible costs

• costs incurred prior to the signature of an agreement and after March 31, 2027
• new construction
• investments pertaining to building envelopes and fleet vehicles

How to apply

The 2023 call for proposals for the Industrial Facility track, directed at individual Canadian industrial facilities, closed on July 31, 2023. The next call for proposals for Track 2 is anticipated to be launched in 2024.

Evaluation process

NRCan will conduct a preliminary assessment to confirm completeness and eligibility of the proposal and alignment with program goals, objectives, and guiding principles, including Canada’s climate targets.

Applications will then be evaluated using a set of merit-based criteria, including the extent to which the proposal addresses assessment criteria such as:

• awareness and uptake of industrial energy efficiency and energy management
• outcomes and benefits
• risks and mitigation

NRCan will make funding decisions that take into consideration the assessment results, the risk level of the project, and other factors such as: regional distribution of funding; distribution of funding across industry sub-sectors, organizations, and eligible activities; and distribution and availability of funding.

Expressions of interest

For those who were not ready to submit a formal proposal within the intake period specified online, please consider providing an expression of interest. For more information, please contact rfpindustry-ddpindustrie@nrcan-rncan.gc.ca.

Contact us

For more information about the GIFMP, or to obtain an application package, please contact NRCan at: nrcan.rfpindustry-ddpindustrie.rncan@canada.ca.