Edmonton, AB - Made in Alberta, built for the world.

That s the idea behind Alberta Innovates new and Canada s first carbon fibre production research facility, which opened its doors to industry recently.

Canada s first carbon fibre production facility opens in Edmonton

Alberta has officially activated Canada s first carbon-fibre production facility, marking a strategic inflection point for North America s composite-materials supply chain. The initiative driven by Alberta Innovates positions the province as a cost-competitive producer by leveraging oil-sands derived asphaltenes as a lower-cost precursor.

The facility is engineered to streamline pilot-scale production, de-risk scale-up, and support OEMs seeking domestic, resilient, and affordable carbon-fibre sources. Early benchmarks indicate the material meets performance thresholds aligned with automotive, energy, and industrial-composite applications.

For the composites ecosystem, this development is more than regional progress it s a strategic hedge against geopolitical supply risks and a catalyst for advanced-manufacturing growth across North America.

At Alberta Innovates, we don t just see carbon fibre as a material we see it as a catalyst, says Alberta Innovates CEO Mike Mahon. A conduit for cleaner energy, smarter design and resilient systems. It s where science meets sustainability, and where Alberta s ingenuity takes flight.

The state-of-the-art facility, located at Alberta Innovates InnoTech facilities in Edmonton, was made possible by $10 million in funding from Prairies Economic Development Canada, and over $1 million in facility upgrades funded by Infrastructure Alberta. It offers industry access to pre-commercial-scale production and testing, as well as expertise in hydrocarbon processing and carbon fibre development.

By using bitumen for high-value applications, Alberta is increasing the economic return on each barrel, while establishing the Canadian market for carbon fibre products. says Brian Jean, Minister of Energy and Minerals Alberta.

By using Alberta bitumen to produce the high-value materials that power the industries of tomorrow, we re expanding the opportunities that this resource has created for generations, says the Honourable Eleanor Olszewski, Minister of Emergency Management and Community Resilience and Minister responsible for Prairies Economic Development Canada (PrairiesCan). This new Carbon Fibre Processing Facility will turn Alberta s vast bitumen reserves into world-class carbon fibre, opening new markets and creating new opportunities for our province and the Prairie economy. Through investing in projects like this, our government is empowering businesses to innovate, protecting good jobs and building the strongest economy in the G7.

The facility s first clients will be the finalists of the Alberta Innovates Carbon Fibre Grand Challenge, a $20 million competition to accelerate the development of production for carbon fibre from bitumen-derived feedstocks and promote their use in manufactured products.

One of the main challenges innovation faces is the gap between laboratory research and commercialization, often due to the lack of pilot-scale infrastructure, says Yasmine Abdin, President & COO, Fibernx, a BC-based carbon fibre company that will be relocating to Alberta to be one of the facility s first clients. This facility allows us to validate our current manufacturing processes on a larger scale and identify the adjustments needed for real-life production. This facility serves as the vital link between research and manufacturing, to enable faster commercialization of carbon fibre technologies.