Under the terms of the agreement, CO₂ Solutions, a leader in the field of enzyme-enabled CO₂ capture technology, will install and operate a pilot plant capturing an estimated 15 tonnes of CO₂ per day at Husky Energy’s Pikes Peak South, Saskatchewan heavy oil site. The pilot unit is expected to begin operation in early 2015 with completion of the testing phase expected in the third quarter of 2015. Subject to a positive assessment by Husky Energy of the pilot test outcome, the agreement provides for Husky Energy to consider the use of CO₂ Solutions’ technology for commercial CO₂ capture projects.

‘The pilot demonstration of our technology is a significant milestone towards the commercial deployment of our technology for CO₂ capture and beneficial utilization applications such as enhanced oil recovery’, said Evan Price, President and CEO of CO₂ Solutions. Moreover, he noted that ‘Husky Energy is a recognized leader in the energy industry and will provide valuable expertise to this project’.

Part of the funding for the project will be received from the Government of Canada’s ecoENERGY Innovation Initiative (ecoEII) program. This program targets projects that drive energy innovation, create jobs and generate new economic opportunities that protect the environment. According to Greg Rickford, Minister of Natural Resources and Minister for the Federal Economic Development of Northern Ontario, the recent announcement of the Collaboration Agreement demonstrates that these investments are successfully bringing innovative clean technologies from concept to reality.

The Climate Change and Emissions Management Corporation (CCEMC), which also grants funding for the project, is pleased to see the innovative CO₂ capture technology developed by CO₂ Solutions move forward to pilot stage. According to CCEMC Chair Eric Newell, ‘Enzyme-enabled CO₂ capture is a transformative technology that can help Alberta to reduce GHG emissions and transition to a lower carbon economy’.

A major advantage of enzyme-enabled CO₂ capture over conventional processing is that nil-value energy from the operation is used as the main heat source thus significantly reducing operating costs. Industrially optimized enzyme catalysts used in the testing phase exhibited robust performance both in absorption and solvent regeneration. A successful project could pave the way for this novel technology to be more widely applied.