C2MCI Research Faculty members receive $15M in Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) project funding

The Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) Innovation Fund represents one of the federal government’s most significant investments in research infrastructure, equipping leading scholars with advanced tools to address complex national and global challenges. Backed by more than $552 million in recent federal funding, the program supports the creation of new facilities and the renewal of existing research hubs, enabling breakthroughs across priority areas such as energy, healthcare, and emerging technologies. Receipt of CFI funding is highly competitive and signals exceptional research excellence, leadership, and national relevance.

Dr. Paul Ragogna, in collaboration with Dr. Cathleen Crudden and a multidisciplinary team across Western University, McGill University, and Queen's University, was awarded $5.27M for the project “Canadian Barrier Coatings Initiative (CBCI): Protection of Metallic Surfaces Through Molecular-level Innovation.” 

This initiative seeks to develop transformative corrosion prevention strategies using metallophilic organic coatings that bind strongly to metal surfaces, offering protection across a wide range of materials and scales. The project aims to deliver durable, cost-effective, and environmentally responsible solutions to corrosion while enabling new “bottom-up” manufacturing approaches relevant to microelectronics.

For the C2MCI, this funding supports the expansion of advanced analytical infrastructure at Queen’s, directly enabling the scale-up, optimization, and commercialization of novel coating materials.

Dr. Yolanda Hedberg, alongside Dr. Mark Daymond and collaborators from Western University, Queen's University, and the Royal Military College of Canada, received $9.7M for the project “Advancing Canada’s sustainability by mitigating hydrogen-promoted degradation.”

This research addresses the critical challenge of hydrogen embrittlement, a process that weakens metals and poses significant risks for hydrogen storage and transportation systems central to Canada’s clean energy transition. The project will develop novel analytical methods to directly detect hydrogen in materials, establish a mechanistic understanding of degradation processes, and design advanced hydrogen-resistant coatings.

For the C2MCI, this work is closely aligned with our expertise in carbon-to-metal coatings, enabling the development of next-generation materials that enhance the safety and reliability of hydrogen technologies. The establishment of new facilities at Queen’s further positions the Institute at the forefront of sustainable materials research and supports Canada’s ambitions under its national hydrogen strategy.

Together, these CFI-funded initiatives affirm C2MCI’s leadership in advancing cutting-edge materials science. Building on C2MCI’s growing intellectual property portfolio, this investment strengthens the Institute’s capacity to translate discoveries into real-world industrial applications. The Institute takes great pride in contributing to these nationally significant projects and looks forward to sharing future results.

For the full list of successful project proposals, please visit the Canada Foundation for Innovation announcement.