Canada is investing more than $9.5 million (CA$14 million) in six projects developing carbon capture, storage and transportation technologies.
The funding for these projects is provided through the Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) call for proposals launched by the Energy Innovation Program.
The largest funding share of $3.5 million (CA$ 5 million) will be allocated to Enbridge Gas Inc. and their Enbridge-Imperial conventional CO2 storage assessment for Ontario project.
This effort will assess the carbon storage potential in the Cambrian saline reservoir in Southwestern Ontario, providing a foundation for future planning of CO2 hubs in the region.
Daniel Kelter, Carbon Removal Canada‘s director of government relations commented on the announcement by saying: “It’s incredibly meaningful to see the Government of Canada continuing to invest in permanent carbon removal technologies, as it makes both environmental and economic sense. When you invest in the Canadian carbon removal sector you are also investing in its entire supply chain – from engineers, to truck drivers, to farmers, and more.
These investments continue to prove that there is a path to low-cost permanent carbon removal technologies, and right now, that path runs through Canada. We have what any sector needs: interested governments, plentiful agricultural land, significant geological sequestration potential, renewable energy, and the longest coastlines in the world.”
Canada Nickel Company is set to receive more than $2 million (CA$ 3.4 million) for a novel CO2 storage solution that enables the production of critical minerals through a proprietary method called in-process tailings (IPT) carbonation technology.
This process utilizes ultramafic tailings obtained from nickel mining for permanent, geologically stable carbon sequestration. The funding will support the pilot testing of this technology, where the successful outcome could unlock the annual sequestration of millions of tons of CO2.
The Direct Air Capture (DAC) solution developed by the University of Toronto will receive $1.7 million (CA$ 2.5 million) for the betterment of its pH-swing and electrochemical capture liquid regeneration technology, which offers a low-cost method for capturing atmospheric CO2 and concentrating it in a pure stream for geological storage or utilization.
Relevant: Canada Nickel Secures $3.4M To Advance Groundbreaking Carbon Storage Technology
$1.6 million (CA$ 2.2 million) will be invested in a project by Kemetco Research Inc. that aims to develop a technology for large-scale CO2 sequestration that incorporates the creation of critical minerals reserves.
The Quebec-based Université Laval will receive ∼$422,830 (CA$600,000) for computational and experimental research and development (R&D) of efficient and cost-competitive solid adsorbents for DAC.
Lastly, the LOCUS Laboratory at the Université de Sherbrooke is set to receive ∼$352,413 (CA$500,000) for a laboratory R&D project that will improve cryogenic/expansion technology for the creation of a cutting-edge supersonic point-source CO2 capture process.
“Carbon removal technologies are providing Canadian solutions to international problems – for example, how can we leverage mining waste to be a climate solution? There are ways to integrate carbon removal technologies across forestry, agriculture, energy, mining, steel production, and more which will make them even more competitive on an international market. When governments invest in these carbon removal projects, not only are they investing in Canadian universities and companies, but they are sending signals to companies from across the world that Canada is the place to locate your next project,” adds Kelter.
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