CALGARY, AB (February 12, 2026): NGIF Accelerator, a catalyst for energy innovation in Canada’s natural gas sector, today announced a contribution of $95,270 to Vertogen Technologies Inc. (“Vertogen”). Awarded through the Industry Grants program, this funding will support the demonstration of Vertogen’s “RNG Accelerator,” a technology designed to revolutionize the economics of Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) production.
Vertogen, a finalist in the 2024 NGIF Accelerator Cleantech Challenge, has developed a solution that addresses key inefficiencies in organic waste conversion. By optimizing feedstock fermentation prior to anaerobic digestion, the RNG Accelerator significantly reduces processing time while increasing digester capacity and methane yield.
Disrupting the Biological Bottleneck
Conventional anaerobic digestion is a slow process, often requiring more than 20 days for bacteria to break down organic matter before methane generation occurs. Vertogen disrupts this model by optimizing feedstock fermentation within a dedicated bioreactor.
The RNG Accelerator produces an ideal feedstock in just one to two days. When introduced into an anaerobic reactor, this optimized material is converted to methane within hours rather than weeks, delivering significant performance improvements:
• Increases capacity of existing facilities by up to four times.
• Doubles methane yield per unit of waste.
• Reduces residual digester waste by more than 50 percent.
• When paired with redesigned methane gas reactors, the technology has the potential to reduce capital costs and processing time by up to 90 percent.
Path to Commercialization
Vertogen is executing a two-stage project over the next 12 months. The first phase involves lab-scale work to determine optimal operating parameters for maximizing acetate yield and methane production across various organic waste types. Following this, the technology will be deployed at full scale, co-located with an existing anaerobic digester at a wastewater treatment facility in British Columbia. This real-world pilot is designed to validate system performance and stability across variable waste streams.
Image: Vertogen’s RNG Accelerator Reactor
Vertogen’s long-term roadmap focuses on deploying modular retrofit units globally, unlocking significant new energy capacity in municipal and industrial organic waste facilities without the need for costly new infrastructure.
“While producing renewable gas from waste holds immense potential, the industry has long been constrained by slow, capital-intensive biological processes,” said Dr. Troy D. Vassos, President and CEO/CTO of Vertogen Technologies Inc. “By optimizing the biology upfront, the RNG Accelerator compresses processing time from weeks to days, while significantly increasing efficiency. Support from the NGIF Accelerator is pivotal in allowing us to demonstrate this technology at an industrial scale, de-risk adoption for utility partners, and accelerate our path to commercialization.”
“Vertogen’s technology represents the kind of step-change innovation needed to improve the performance and economics of renewable gas production,” said John Adams, President and CEO of NGIF Accelerator. “By enhancing methane yields, reducing waste, and leveraging existing infrastructure, this project aligns strongly with NGIF’s mission to de-risk and validate solutions that strengthen environmental and economic outcomes across the natural gas sector.”
Industry Grants’ Participants and Project Partners
About Industry Grants program
The Industry Grants program is an industry-led effort that offers non-dilutive grants to fund early-stage startups for technology development and field demonstration. The program specifically de-risks pre-commercial technology solutions that have the potential to increase the environmental performance of the natural gas sector. Each project in the program will progress through technology readiness levels through controlled pilot testing and field trials to advance commercialization.
About NGIF Accelerator
NGIF Accelerator is the not-for-profit arm of NGIF Capital and operates all of the latter organization’s technology and innovation programs. The NGIF Accelerator mandate is to de-risk and accelerate technology development by supporting startups through their pilot projects, field trials, and industry validation. It coordinates with federal and provincial governments to co-fund projects to advance market commercialization. NGIF Accelerator currently operates the Industry Grants program and administers the NGIF Emissions Testing Centre program.
About Vertogen Technologies Inc.
With primary operations located in Delta, British Columbia, Vertogen Technologies Inc. is an environmental technology company dedicated to revolutionizing the intersection of water management and clean energy. Vertogen commercializes advanced solutions that turn liabilities into assets—eliminating organic waste while maximizing renewable energy production and water recovery. By bridging the gap between wastewater treatment and energy generation, Vertogen contributes to a cleaner circular economy, lowering operating costs and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Fund Information:
John Adams
President and CEO, NGIF Accelerator
President and CEO, NGIF Capital Corporation
Media Information:
Dini Philip
Communications Coordinator,
