Energy Innovation Program (EIP): Artificial Intelligence for Canadian Energy Innovation - Call for Proposals

Eligibility

Eligible Canadian recipients

Eligible Canadian Recipients will be:

Legal entities validly incorporated or registered in Canada including:

• For-profit and not-for-profit organizations
• Community groups
• Canadian academic institutions

Provincial, territorial, regional and municipal governments and their departments and agencies where applicable.

Indigenous:

• Indigenous communities or governments
• Tribal Councils or entities that fulfill a similar function (e.g. general councils)
• National or regional Indigenous councils, or tribal organizations
• Indigenous (majority owned and controlled by Indigenous people) for-profit or not-for-profit organizations

Under this program's Applicant Guide, the term “Indigenous” is understood to include Inuit, Métis, and First Nations individuals, or any combination thereof.

2.2 Applicant organization contribution

The applicant organization that submits a project proposal through this Call process will be required to make a financial contribution to their proposed project. While the financial contribution does not need to be confirmed at the Expression of Interest (EOI) phase, applicants are encouraged to provide information, if available.

Projects that are invited to submit a Full Project Proposal (FPP) will be required to provide Letter of Confirmation of Applicant Organization Contribution.

2.3 Project partners

Project partners are defined as organizations providing financial or in-kind contributions to the project.

This Call envisions successful project proposals will include diverse project teams and/or partnerships that possess cross-sector expertise and demonstrate a mutual commitment to applying combined knowledge to deliver on the proposed high-impact project.

While project partners do not need to be confirmed at the EOI phase, applicants can provide information, if available. Projects that are invited to submit a FPP will be required to provide a letter of contribution for each partner identified. The strength of the letters of contribution will be considered during the FPP review.

Summary

The Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Canadian Energy Innovation Call for Proposals will fund applied research, development and demonstration (RD&D) of AI solutions that accelerate the pace of, and lower the costs associated with, energy technology innovation.

This Call aims to fund high-impact projects that catalyze national expertise to develop and use novel Canadian-made AI solutions to accelerate domestic energy innovation.

Objectives
This Call will support projects that address the impact statement by meeting all three of the following call objectives:

• Develop and use AI solutions to lower the cost, time and/or energy use of traditional methods to advance new energy innovations
• Bring together AI and energy technology innovators to promote knowledge exchange
• Promote Canadian energy data availability, accessibility and security across the energy innovation ecosystem

The Call is open to projects requesting a call contribution percentage up to 75% of total project costs. The minimum contribution from EIP is $500,000, and the maximum contribution is $1,500,000. Funding is available between April 1, 2026, through March 31, 2030.

Please note that this is a two-stage application. Expressions of Interest are due to NRCan by 1pm Eastern Time (11am Calgary-Time) on December 4, 2025. The requirements for the full application, including the submission deadline, will be provided to those invited to submit a full proposal. We have entered December 31, 2026 as the final agency deadline here as a placeholder only.

Overhead

15% of eligible expenditures. 

• Overhead expenditures can be included as Eligible Expenditures to a maximum of 15% of Eligible Expenditures. Overhead expenditures include:
  • Administrative and corporate support provided directly to the project by the Recipient's employee(s), valued on the same basis as professional staff time;
  • Routine laboratory and field equipment maintenance, based on the actual expenditure to a Recipient;
  • Office operating expenses directly related to the conduct of the project (e.g. faxes, telephone, photocopies, internet, SAT phones, and office equipment);
  • Costs associated with further distribution of funding; and
  • A predetermined overhead percentage (based on evidence provided by the Recipient of expected overhead expenditures at the time of contribution agreement negotiation), may be set and subsequently applied to each claim, in order to avoid unnecessary administrative burden to funding Recipients.
• GST, PST or HST, net of any tax rebate to which the Recipient is entitled.

Further details about overhead are included in Section 8 of the Applicant Guide. 

Pre-application deadlines

RSO internal deadline

Pre-application program deadline

Application deadlines

Program application deadline

NOTE: Consult your Faculty Associate Dean (Research) (ADR) regarding Faculty-specific deadlines and submission processes.

Principal Investigators: Complete a Research Management System (RMS) record, including a copy of your complete application, and submit this for approvals in RMS.

Postdocs, students, and trainees: For fellowships and externally-sponsored research training awards or opportunities, you must complete the Research Funding Application Approval (RFAA) Trainee PDF form, and submit it, along with a complete copy of the application, to Research Services at rsotrainee@ucalgary.ca. Trainees should not use RMS at this time.

Approvals: The University of Calgary requires that all funding applications be approved prior to submission. Approval requires signatures via either RMS or the RFAA Trainee form, in the following order:

• Principal Investigator
• Department Head
• Faculty ADR/Dean
• Research Services (on behalf of the Vice-President Research)

Read the Meaning of Grant Signatures policy to understand what your approval means. Please see the agency guidelines for details about which signatures are required on your application, as it may differ from internal requirements.

Late submissions: Late submissions will only be accepted in cases of medical or family emergencies, or other exceptional circumstances. If you submit your RMS record to Research Services after the internal deadline has passed, you must secure additional approvals. Please read: Late Applications Process.

SUBMITTING TO NATURAL RESOURCES CANADA

Applicants must complete and submit their Expression of Interest (EOI) via the application portal by 1:00 p.m. ET on December 4, 2025.

The Call’s project selection process has two phases:

• Expression of Interest (EOI) phase, open to all eligible applicants
• Full Project Proposal (FPP) phase, open to invited applicants only

After successful applicants have been selected for funding, NRCan will provide non-financial follow-on support in parallel to project implementation. 
Please see Section 6 of the Applicant Guide for full submission details.

RESOURCES

Reminder: The sooner the researcher engages with Research Services, the more help we can be!

Contact the following Research Service units for support with:

Projects Involving Indigenous Research:

Support with incorporating wise practices in Indigenous research, community engagement, and Indigenous data management is available through the Indigenous Research Support Team (IRST).

Applicants can reach out by email to IRST at IRST@ucalgary.ca in advance of the RSO internal deadline. For more information about IRST, please visit the IRST webpage.

Knowledge Mobilization, Research Impact Assessment, DORA:

Support for knowledge mobilization/engagement/translation, community partnerships, research impact, responsible research assessment (DORA), and open science, is available through the Knowledge to Impact team.

Applicants can reach out by email to the KI team at knowledge.impact@ucalgary.ca.

For more information and access to resource archives, please visit the KI team webpage.

Research Data Management:

For information on research data management plans, processes, or best practices for your research program, please contact research.data@ucalgary.ca.

EDI in Research:

RSO can provide resources and support to research teams on the integration of equitable and inclusive practices in research design and research practice.

Contact edi.rso@ucalgary.ca for more information.

Research Security:

The Research Security Division is available to ensure researchers adhere to research security guidelines and policies, including the National Security Guidelines for Research Partnerships (NSGRP) and the policy on Sensitive Technology Research and Affiliations of Concern (STRAC).

Visit the Research Security website to learn more or contact researchsecurity@ucalgary.ca.

Pre-Award Submissions:

RMS: Creating a Pre-Award LOI
RMS: Creating a Pre-Award Application