Canada’s government is to investing a total of CAN$28.9 million on 12 projects across the country to accelerate the development and deployment of clean energy. Of this funding CAN$16.9 million will be invested in five carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) research, development and demonstration projects. The remainder will be used to develop three renewable energy projects amounting to CAN$9.2 million, and four smart grid regulatory innovation and capacity building projects which will receive CAN$2.8 million.
Tim Hodgson, Canada's minister of energy and natural resources said the country is scaling up clean energy while strengthening its electricity grid and "responsibly" growing its conventional energy industry: “We are investing to provide reliable, affordable and clean power across the country that will propel our economic growth," he said, with the aim of making Canada a "low-risk, low-cost, low-carbon energy superpower.”
The government said that the carbon capture investment would advance “early-stage CCUS research and development activities,” in capture, utilisation and storage as well as transportation.
Of the carbon capture investment the largest tranche, CAN$10 million, will go to Carbon Alpha, which is testing a new way to design seismic surveys for carbon capture and storage measurement, monitoring and verification (MMV). The aim is to reduce the need for multiple three-dimensional repeat surveys and enable rapid adoption of more cost-effective MMV plans.
Almost CAN$5 million will go to Petroleum Technology Research Centre which is working to gather information on how a carbon dioxide plume moves and changes deep underground in rock formations. The project is aimed at gathering information which can be used to help lower the technical, environmental and financial risks of geological carbon dioxide storage projects and storage hubs.
Finding ways to use industrial waste streams, such as carbon dioxide or flue-gas emissions to decarbonise concrete, CarbiCrete has been awarded CAN$700 000 to develop a new concrete curing process. CarbiCrete’s technology replaces 100% of the cement content in masonry and hardscape products with a steel-making by-product, avoiding all cement-related emissions. The company then uses carbon dioxide to cure its concrete, permanently sequestering carbon dioxide within the products.
Welcoming the investment CarbiCrete said that: “The ability to use flue gas directly as our CO₂ feedstock will be a transformative milestone for CarbiCrete. It will allow virtually any industrial emitter to turn its own by product emissions into an input for making cement-free concrete—unlocking a more scalable, cost effective pathway to decarbonizing the built environment, and accelerating the pace at which heavy industries can participate in the circular economy.”
The company added that the funding for this project will allow it to advance research and development initiatives focused on making cement-free concrete using a new curing process that works even when carbon dioxide levels are low, as is generally the case with flue gas emissions.
York University, in Toronto, will receive CAN$695 000 to advance “innovative carbon dioxide capture technology that avoids the high temperatures normally used in conventional carbon capture systems.” This project has developed a technology that uses electrochemical regeneration and processes using light, such as solar or LED, and advanced materials to lower energy use, reduce operating costs and improve the overall performance of carbon capture technology.
CO2L Technologies will receive CAN$580 000 to scale up a tonne scale system that turns carbon dioxide into useful products such as formate salts, formic acid and desiccants. These are products are used areas such as chemical manufacturing, and agriculture.
Further reading:
- CCUS: Carbon capture is growing but there’s still much to do
- CCUS: New carbon capture targets needed says report
- As Canada Awards approach, government backs CCUS in pursuit of green economy
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