Emissions Reduction Alberta commits $33 million to tech innovations

Photo: Supplied by ERA

Emissions Reduction Alberta (ERA) is committing $33 million to 17 technology innovation projects in the province, through the Food, Farming, and Forestry Challenge.

The technologies selected are all in pilot, demonstration, or first-of-kind commercial deployment stage, and include six projects in the agriculture and agri-food sector, with five directly applicable to cattle.

According to the ERA, the 17 projects have the potential to lead to cumulative greenhouse gas emissions reductions of up to 2.7 million tonnes of carbon dioxide by 2030.

The funding comes from Alberta’s Technology Innovation and Emissions Reduction (TIER) fund.

---

New Production System – Korova Feeders Ltd.
Project value: $20,350,000 | ERA commitment: $5,000,000
New productive system and standard for feedlot anaerobic digestion and waste management.

Cattle Feed Additive for Reducing Methane Emissions – Synergraze Inc.
Project value: $15,000,000 | ERA commitment: $5,000,000 
Commercially grow and process a feed additive for cattle based on a strain of red macroalgae (Asparagopsis) that could potentially reduce methane emissions from cattle.

Achieving on-farm carbon neutrality through the datafication of waste – Livestock Water Recycling, A Division of IWR Technologies Ltd.
Project value: $1,370,000| ERA commitment: $650,000
Use a technology (known as PLANT) to transform paunch manure into two distinct natural fertilizers, reducing on-farm methane emissions by up to 82 per cent in cattle processing.

Impact of genomics-enhanced whole herd genetic management platform on reducing beef GHGs – Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
Project value: $5,500,000| ERA commitment: $490,000
Development and demonstrate a genomics enhanced whole herd management platform for the beef industry.

Use Ag waste and craft brewer’s grain to grow high value mushrooms and produce livestock feed – Ceres Solutions Ltd.
Project value: $2,000,000 | ERA commitment: $500,000
Use agricultural by-product (spent brewer grain which would have gone to land fill) as a growing media for specialty mushroom production in a containerized system and use the leftover substrate after mushroom harvesting (called Mycopro) as cattle feed.

See the full list of projects and read more on the challenge, here.