Natural Resources Canada has announced an investment of $2.5 million from the Energy Innovation Program (EIP) to support Ottawa-based TerraFixing in developing made-in-Canada carbon management technology.

The project aims to advance direct air capture technology designed for cold climates by scaling up CO₂ capture beds. It uses structured zeolite packing — a porous mineral that traps CO₂ from the air — to minimize pressure drop and improve mass transport of CO₂. The goal is to fit a 1,000-tonnes-per-year unit into a shipping container, achieving costs below $100 per tonne of CO₂ at a large scale.

Dr. Vida Gabriel, Co-founder and CEO/COO, TerraFixing Inc., said: “With the [EIP] funding, we’ve built a state-of-the-art lab, doubled our team, and developed a new manufacturing IP that we’re now moving from benchtop to a pilot production line in a warehouse right here in Ottawa. The programme’s support is helping us keep innovative technology and IP in Canada, create supply chain independence from the U.S., and stimulate the creation of hundreds of high-skilled jobs on the path of making Canada a global leader in carbon capture, utilisation and storage.”

Through the EIP, Natural Resources Canada is delivering on a commitment by the Canadian government to invest $319 million over seven years into research, development, and demonstrations to advance the commercial viability of carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) technologies. TerraFixing’s project is funded under the EIP’s Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage Research, Development and Demonstration (RD&D) call for proposals.

As part of the 2024 budget, the Canadian federal government delivered, on a priority basis, a suite of major economic investment tax credits, representing $93 billion in incentives by 2034–35, to create jobs and keep Canada on track to reduce pollution and reach net zero by 2050. This includes a Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage Investment Tax Credit.