Clean Industry Fund (formerly CleanBC Industry Fund)
Compared with the 242 other application forms we have read
- Scored mainly on environmental outcome. Only 11 lead with that.
- The heaviest thing to produce is technical documentation. 14 ask for that.
- Publishes the score sheet reviewers actually use. Only 30 do.
Can you win this grant?
Get your instant eligibility verdict plus a head start on the application. Free, no account needed.
We use this program’s real eligibility rules. 4 short questions follow.
Want your full match picture across 850+ programs? Take the 2-minute quiz →
Eligibility & Details
What this program funds and who can apply
Program Description
Major provincial fund investing $368M+ since 2019 across 173 projects, supporting BC industrial operations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Includes Innovation Accelerator and Feasibility Studies streams. Funded by carbon tax revenue from large industrial emitters producing 10,000+ tonnes CO2e annually.
Eligibility Requirements
- Industrial operations in British Columbia
- Applicant must be the Operator of a B.C. Output-Based Pricing System (OBPS) Regulated Operation; opted-in operations qualify, OBPS New Entrants do not
- Facility must emit 10,000+ tonnes CO2 equivalent per year
- Project must demonstrate measurable emissions reduction
- Must meet minimum project size requirements
Quick Assessment
Funding Details
- Amount
- Varies by stream (Emissions Performance: up to $10M/project; Innovation Accelerator; Feasibility Studies); $35M total for 2026 intake
- Type
- Grant
- Level
- Provincial
- Co-Funding
- Up to 50% of eligible costs
- Deadline
- 2026 intake closed: Emissions Performance closed May 22, 2026, Innovation Accelerator June 19, 2026 and Feasibility Studies June 26, 2026. The next intake has not been announced.
Program Scorecard
Competition, effort, and approval at a glance
Difficult — significant preparation needed
High competition — many applicants
Complex — detailed documentation needed
How to Win
Insider tips, common pitfalls, and what successful applicants look like
Insider Tip$368M+ committed since 2019 to 173 projects makes this one of BC's largest industrial grant programs.
Success Profile
Evaluation Criteria
How Clean Industry Fund (formerly CleanBC Indu... judges your application
What the reviewer scores, what gets applications rejected, and what to write.
Distilled from 6+ source documents on www2.gov.bc.ca, condensed into one brief. Sources as of 2026-09-10.
6 of the sources
Sign up free to save this programme and track your application in your workspace.
What Clean Industry Fund (formerly CleanBC Indu... favours
Show calculations reviewer can replicate, with data and assumptions◦
“The information you provide in the Appendix should enable the reviewer to replicate emission reduction calculations and understand the basis for data, assumptions, and emission factor choices.”
The form
Project concept form
- 1Project Concept Form: project information (Yes / No / Unknown)checkboxesno limit
- 2Project Concept Form: describe your project or studywritten answerno limit
Please describe your project or study. Provide brief details on the following information, as applicable:
- 3Project Concept Form: duration and costsshort answerno limit
- 4Project Concept Form: topics to discusswritten answerno limit
Please list any topics or RFP questions you would like to discuss
EP: project and funding
- 5EP: Project Titleshort answer · 30 characters
- 6EP: Proponent Profiletableno limit
- 7EP: eligible expense estimate and funding requestshort answerno limit
- 8EP: previous CIF Feasibility Studies proposalselection + writtenno limit
- 9EP: primary goal of the project (templated statement)written answerno limit
- 10EP: equipment to be upgraded, replaced or decommissionedlistno limit
- 11EP: proposed new technology, products or serviceslistno limit
- 12EP: impacts on Indigenous interestswritten answerno limit
EP: GHG boundary and baseline
- 13EP: GHG boundarywritten answerno limit
- 14EP: baseline - existing process and technologywritten answerno limit
- 15EP: baseline sources, sinks and reservoirswritten answerno limit
- 16EP: baseline quantification methodologywritten answerno limit
- 17EP: baseline emission intensity (BEI) measurementwritten answerno limit
EP: project case and measurement
- 18EP: project case - new process and technologywritten answerno limit
- 19EP: project sources, sinks and reservoirswritten answerno limit
- 20EP: project emissions estimation methodologywritten answerno limit
- 21EP: post-project measurement methodologywritten answerno limit
EP: schedule and delivery
- 22EP: start and end datesshort answerno limit
- 23EP: expenditures before the Notification Datewritten answerno limit
- 24EP: front-end engineering design completedwritten answerno limit
- 25EP: required regulatory approvals and permitstableno limit
- 26EP: key milestone datestableno limit
EP: business case and benefits
- 27EP: Business Case (need for CIF funding)written answerno limit
- 28EP: jobs createdshort answerno limit
- 29EP: B.C. sector competitivenesswritten answerno limit
- 30EP: B.C. clean-tech advantagewritten answerno limit
- 31EP: Indigenous hiring, agreements and participationyes/no + writtenno limit
- 32EP: other environmental benefitsyes/no + writtenno limit
EP: certifications and appendix
- 33EP: Certifications and Information Sharingcheckboxesno limit
- 34EP: Technical Appendix workbook (mandatory)spreadsheetno limit
IA: project and team
- 35IA: Project Titleshort answer · 30 characters
- 36IA: Project Profile incl. Technology Providertableno limit
- 37IA: Project Feasibility Study (previous CIF FS proposal)selection + writtenno limit
- 38IA: eligible expense estimate and funding requestshort answerno limit
- 39IA: primary goal of the project (templated statement)written answerno limit
- 40IA: existing process or technology to be replacedwritten answerno limit
- 41IA: project technology and why it is innovativewritten answerno limit
- 42IA: role of project partnerswritten answerno limit
- 43IA: Project Teamtableno limit
- 44IA: scaled or segmented optionswritten answerno limit
- 45IA: impacts on Indigenous interestswritten answerno limit
IA: emissions and delivery
- 46IA: emissions reductions at the Regulated Operation (2030 and 2050)written answerno limit
- 47IA: emissions reductions across the proponent’s operations and B.C.written answerno limit
- 48IA: start and end datesshort answerno limit
- 49IA: expenditures before the Notification Datewritten answerno limit
- 50IA: front-end engineering design completedwritten answerno limit
- 51IA: required regulatory approvals and permitstableno limit
- 52IA: key milestone datestableno limit
- 53IA: Key Performance Indicatorstableno limit
IA: business case and benefits
- 54IA: Business Case (need for CIF funding)written answerno limit
- 55IA: economic benefits of project spendingwritten answerno limit
- 56IA: B.C. sector competitivenesswritten answerno limit
- 57IA: B.C. clean-tech advantagewritten answerno limit
- 58IA: jobs created in B.C.short answerno limit
- 59IA: Indigenous hiring, agreements and participationyes/no + writtenno limit
- 60IA: other environmental benefitsyes/no + writtenno limit
IA: commercialization
- 61IA: intellectual property and B.C.-based commercializationyes/no + writtenno limit
IA: certifications and appendix
- 62IA: Certifications and Information Sharingcheckboxesno limit
- 63IA: Technical Appendix workbook (mandatory)spreadsheetno limit
- 64IA: panel presentation (by invitation)written answerno limit
FS: study and funding
- 65FS: Study Titleshort answer · 30 characters
- 66FS: Project Profile incl. Study Partnerstableno limit
- 67FS: eligible expense estimate and funding requestshort answerno limit
FS: study summary
- 68FS: background and need for the studywritten answerno limit
- 69FS: study scopewritten answerno limit
- 70FS: risks and barrierswritten answerno limit
- 71FS: unknowns and uncertainties addressedwritten answerno limit
- 72FS: how the study de-risks future projectswritten answerno limit
- 73FS: success criteriawritten answerno limit
FS: objectives and team
- 74FS: value of the study to industrywritten answerno limit
- 75FS: support for industry-led innovationwritten answerno limit
- 76FS: Project Team credentialstableno limit
- 77FS: study start and completion datesshort answerno limit
FS: next steps and emissions
- 78FS: next steps if feasiblewritten answerno limit
- 79FS: next steps if not feasiblewritten answerno limit
- 80FS: potential emissions vs business-as-usual (2026-2036)written answerno limit
- 81FS: potential application and reductions across B.C.written answerno limit
FS: certifications and budget
- 82FS: Certifications and Information Sharingcheckboxesno limit
- 83FS: elements excluded from the Study Summary Reportwritten answerno limit
- 84FS: Study Budget Template workbook (mandatory)spreadsheetno limit
bar = length the funder allows, from its stated limits
Judged against
Clean Industry Fund (formerly CleanBC Indu... publishes its score sheet. in Premium
- 1
How much will this cut, and at what cost?
Show them Quantify annual and total tCO2e at the Regulated Operation with a method a reviewer can replicate, and show the dollars per tonne.◦
In the funder’s words · 4
- Cost (dollars per tonne 2026-2036; alignment with industry costs) 30
- Emissions Reduced 32
- Economic, Environmental, and Associated Benefits 35
- Potential GHG Emissions Reductions & Market Potential 30
- 2
Would this project happen without CIF money?
What to show, and the funder’s 6 criteria behind it in Premium
- 3
Can you actually deliver this on time?
What to show, and the funder’s 18 criteria behind it in Premium
- 4
What else does B.C. get from this?
What to show, and the funder’s 6 criteria behind it in Premium
Where applicants fail
“Proposals with questions left blank will not receive a full score and may be disqualified.”
“Optional materials that the proponent chooses to submit but fails to reference will not be reviewed.”
Premium · the rest of this brief
See all 17 rules that can reject you and every criterion you are judged on. Then we draft your application for you.
14 more rules that can reject you · 30 more criteria · 82 more prompts
Do you pass?
Each one can rule you out. Tick the ones you meet.
Your business
GGIRCA emission reports for 2022-2024
GGIRCA emission report for the 2024 reporting period; also 2023 and 2022, or a Certification that it was not then the Operator / not a Reporting Operation.
Not an OBPS-excluded sector
Industry sectors that are excluded from the B.C. OBPS are also excluded from CIF, including electricity import operations, energy utilities, greenhouse growers, and waste management and remediation services.
The project
Not started, complete by Mar 2031
Not started; complete by March 31, 2031
2 things this funder says you do NOT need, in Premium.
Documents to attach
Ticks are kept on this device.
The money
EP funding cap50% expenses, max $10 million
Proposals must identify an amount of funding sought for the Project that does not exceed 50% of the Proposal’s Budgeted Eligible Expenses, to a maximum of $10 million.
IA funding cap75% of eligible expenses
Proposals must identify an amount of funding sought for the Project that does not exceed 75% of the Proposal’s Budgeted Eligible Expenses.
FS funding capAt most 75% of eligible expenses
CIF will fund at most 75% of the Study’s Eligible Expenses.
Payment timingAnnual, tied to reporting milestones
Payments will be made on an annual basis contingent on the completion of indicated reporting milestones and the submission of expense claims.
Performance holdback10% standard, up to 20% risk
The standard final Performance Reimbursement Amount is generally equivalent to 10% of the Provincial funding but could be up to 20% for Projects with higher risk profiles.
Your shareAt least 25% of eligible expenses
In cases where additional funding sources for the Project exist, the Proponent’s proportion of Eligible Expenses must be at least 25% of Budgeted Eligible Expenses.
StackingStack up to 75% of eligible expenses
Projects may stack funding from other external sources up to 75% of Budgeted Eligible Expenses.
Costs before approvalOnly expenses after Notification Date
Proponents will only be eligible to receive CIF funding after the date on which a Funding Agreement is signed with the Province and only for Eligible Expenses that are incurred after the date the Proponent is notified in writing of its success (the “Notification Date”).
What it pays for · 2
- Eligible Services are: engineering and design costs for the Project; management/supervision of the Project; construction, installation, or implementation of the Project; preparation of reports required in this Agreement
- Eligible Material Expenses are expenses for materials, equipment, software and supplies purchased or leased by the Recipient or its contractors, subcontractors and professionals (and payable by the Recipient under contract) for the sole purpose of completion of the Project
What it does not pay for · 5
- Administrative and Overhead Expenses
- costs of purchasing land, an interest in land, or licence to land, and real estate fees
- GST and/or PST on or included in any Eligible Expense, or any other tax or government levy for which the Recipient is eligible for a refund or credit
- expenses associated with submitting the Proposal or negotiating this Agreement
- Studies that investigate a potential implementation at greenfield facilities.
From application to money
- Talk to a program advisorContact Program Advisor anytime
- Email the proposalMay 22, June 19, June 26
- Ranking and offerScreening, scoring, panel presentation
- Sign the agreementSign within thirty days of notice
- Run the projectComplete by March 31, 2031
- Report resultsReport within 150 days of period end
In the funder’s words · 6
- Talk to a program advisor
- Proponents are encouraged to contact the Program Advisor at any stage of the application process.
- Email the proposal
- Send the Proposal Form and the stream's technical appendix workbook by email before the closing time for your stream. (EP closed May 22, 2026 at 11:59pm; IA closed June 19, 2026 at 23:59; FS closed June 26, 2026 at 23:59)
- Ranking and offer
- Proposals are screened, scored against weighted criteria with category minimums, and IA proponents may be invited to present to a panel.
- Sign the agreement
- Negotiate and sign the Funding Agreement with the Province within thirty days of notification of a successful Proponent. (within thirty days of notification of a successful Proponent)
- Run the project
- The project must not have started, and CIF only reimburses expenses incurred after the Notification Date.
- Report results
- Semi-annual reporting milestones and a final performance report determine what is paid and what must be repaid. (Within 150 days of the last day of the Target Emission Intensity Measurement Period)
Quoted lines are word for word from the source documents; lines marked ◦ are our reading of them.
Everything you need to win Clean Industry Fund (formerly CleanBC Indu...
Not a marketing summary. The actual checklist, intel, and stack strategy reviewers look for.
- 7-document checklist with what each reviewer is actually checking
- Your Application Game Plan — the print-ready PDF the preview below describes
- 6-step application timeline with prep hours per step
- Insider tip from program officers on what separates winners
- 5-program stacking strategy to combine with compatible funding
- Success profile + evaluation criteria — exactly what reviewers score on
Application Playbook
Step-by-step process, required documents, and expenses
Application Steps
Required Documents 7
Eligible Expenses 6
Ineligible Expenses 6
Intake Periods
Deadline Notes
Ineligible Organizations
Funding Stack Strategy
Compatible programs, clawback risk, and combined funding potential
Compatible Programs
Clawback Risk
Medium RiskHow Clean Industry Fund (formerly CleanBC Indu... Compares
Side-by-side with similar programs
| Program | Amount | Difficulty | Payment | Deadline |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clean Industry Fund (formerly CleanBC... | up to $10M | Hard | Reimbursement | 2026 intake closed:... |
| Emissions Reduction Alberta (ERA) — I... | up to $15,000,000 | Hard | Reimbursement | 2026 round closed —... |
| PrairiesCan (Prairies Economic Develo... | Varies | Hard | Reimbursement | Ongoing |
| Strategic Response Fund - Steel Sector | Varies (from $5B fund) | Hard | Reimbursement | Ongoing |
| NSERC Applied Research and Developmen... | Up to $150,000 | Moderate | Advance Payment | Ongoing — applications... |
Related Programs
Other programs you might be eligible for
Frequently Asked Questions
Quick answers to the questions founders most often ask about Clean Industry Fund (formerly CleanBC Indu...