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All FAQs pertain to the Transportation Call – Expression of Interest Stage

  • On-Road Transportation Decarbonization Call
    1. What is the call’s total funding envelope?
      Answer:
      • This call will fund up to $50 million in projects with the total funding amount to be determined based on the quality of proposals received.

    2. How many projects will be selected for funding?
      Answer:
      • There is not an established target number of projects that will receive funding. Given the range of funding amounts – from $500,000 to $5 million per project – the number of projects funded will depend on the amount requested by selected projects.

  • Eligibility and Scope
    1. Can an organization that is the Canadian subsidiary of an internationally-based company apply?
      Answer:
      • Yes, provided that the organization is legally registered in Canada and the majority of the project takes place in Canada.

    2. Can we collaborate on a project that is being developed currently outside Canada, or with a foreign partner?
      Answer:
      • The lead proponent for the project is required to have an established presence in Canada, and the majority of project activity must take place in Canada.

        Foreign entities are eligible to act as partner organizations in your project, and some degree of eligible project activities can be executed outside of Canada, however NRCan reserves the right to deem ineligible projects that have a majority of their activities or benefits outside of Canada.

    3. Do all partnerships need to be confirmed at the time of submission?
      Answer:
      • The expression of interest form allows you to list your partners, even the ones that are not confirmed, and requires you to specify the current status of each partnership: identified; early discussion; negotiating agreement; or confirmed. Applicants are encouraged to identify where partnerships and/or specific funding commitments are confirmed, and to illustrate as clearly as possible their value to the project.

        Note that Letters of Support are required if partnership is marked as "confirmed.”

    4. What are the eligibility requirements around intellectual property (IP)?
      Answer:
      • Projects are not required to have generated IP prior to applying; applicants may continue to work on IP during the course of the project. Projects can use IP that already exists from outside of Canada, as long as it is licensed to the applicant for use in Canada. A successful contribution agreement with NRCan will require that all IP that arises over the course of a project be vest in, or be licensed to, the proponent.

    5. Are charging infrastructure, software and integration services related to vehicle-to-grid (V2G) initiatives all eligible expenditures? 
      Answer:
      • Charging infrastructure, related software services and integration services would fall under eligible expenditures, as these are not considered grid-side infrastructure. However, expenditures related to primarily grid-side upgrades would be considered ineligible.

    6. Can energy storage be integrated as part of a solution?
      Answer:
      • Projects focusing primarily on energy storage will not be eligible under this call. However, energy storage may be considered as an eligible expenditure depending on how the technology supports the eligible activities addressing the call priorities.

  • Application Process
    1. Can applicants submit more than one application?
      Answer:
      • Applicants can submit more than one application, provided that each application is for a distinct project.

    2. Can applicants apply to both R&D and Demo project streams?
      Answer:
      • Applicants are required to select either the R&D or Demo project stream in the application, and clearly describe where their project resides in terms of stage of development based on the core objectives of the project.

        For multi-phase projects (e.g. projects that have both R&D and Demo aspects), applicants can submit one application under the Demo project stream (should they wish) that includes the various phases. The application should clearly describe the sequencing of the work and the risks associated with incremental steps not proceeding as planned (along with appropriate mitigation measures/contingency plans), as this will be a part of the evaluation.

    3. Will the voluntary inclusion, equity, diversity, and accessibility (IDEA) questions be evaluated?
      Answer:
      • Any IDEA information collected will not be scored as part of the application, however it may be considered during the selection process.

    4. Can applicants submit other supporting materials along with their application?
      Answer:
      • The Expression of interest questions requiring attachments, as well as the types of attachments, are clearly identified in the Expression of interest form on the Applicant portal. No other type of attachment will be accepted at the Expression of Interest stage.

    5. Whom should applicants contact if there are any difficulties applying through the online portal?
      Answer:

  • Funding
    1. Does my organization need to contribute funds to the project?
      Answer:
      • You can request up to 75% of total project costs for R&D projects and 50% for Demonstration projects. You will need other sources of funding to cover the remainder of the total project cost.

        Collaboration and leveraging are strongly encouraged for all project components, and these will be included in the selection criteria. Additional points will be awarded in the evaluation of proposed projects that leverage funding from non-government sources. Note that this does not apply to Indigenous applicants, given their eligibility for a contribution of up to 100% of total project costs.

    2. What is an in-kind contribution? Can an in-kind contribution be included in the total project cost?
      Answer:
      • An in-kind expenditure represents a cash-equivalent contribution to the project in the form of a valuable good, service or other support, for which no cash is exchanged, but that is essential to the project and that would have to be purchased by the project proponent on the open market, or through negotiation with the provider, if it were not provided as in-kind.

        As noted in Appendix C of the Applicants’ Guide, in-kind support must be verifiable, directly support the project, and fall into the same cost categories as identified for Eligible Expenditures. All in-kind expenditures are ineligible for reimbursement by NRCan, but can be included in the total project costs as long as they meet the criteria outlined in Appendix C.

    3. Who should be the owner of assets to be purchased with NRCan program funds?
      Answer:
      • The applicant is expected to be the majority owner of assets to be purchased with NRCan program funds.

    4. What are the stacking limits to funding?
      Answer:
      • Stacking of funding (total government support for a project) will be supported to a maximum of 100% of eligible expenditures. However, applicants will need to verify any stacking limits on other funding programs to which they may have also applied.

    5. What are considered eligible and ineligible expenditures?
      Answer:
      • To review the eligible and ineligible expenditures under this call, refer to Appendix C of the Applicants’ Guide.

    6. Does the program credit the proponent or reimburse them for project expenditures?
      Answer:
      • Our contribution agreements are based on a reimbursement model – the proponent will spend the money up front and is reimbursed by the program.

  • Miscellaneous
    1. Can an applicant request a meeting with NRCan to discuss specific questions about their EOI?
      Answer:
      • Due to the number of inquiries received and in the interest of fairness, the program is not accepting meetings with individual applicants. Please send your questions by email to the program mailbox (eiptransport-pietransports@nrcan-rncan.gc.ca).

    2. Where can I find more information about the On-Road Transportation Decarbonization call?
      Answer:
      • The presentation recording of the Information Session provides an overview of the call.

    3. Based on the information in the Applicants’ Guide, I don’t believe that I’m eligible for this call. Where can I find more information on federal support for clean technology innovation?
      Answer:
      • For information about federal support for clean technology, please contact the Government of Canada’s Clean Growth Hub. The Clean Growth Hub can best direct you to any appropriate government funding or services to advance your project idea.  Please note that the Hub itself is not a funding program and does not influence final program decisions.

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