News
Publish date: April 28, 2014
News
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.
Recent attacks on Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant "mark the beginning of a new and gravely dangerous front of the war," the UN atomic agency's director general said last week.
After years of inaction, Germany is working on its Carbon Management Strategy to resolve how CCS can play a role in climate action in industry. At the end of February, the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action published first key points and a proposal to amend the law Kohlenstoffdioxid Speicherungsgesetz (KSpG). Bellona Deutschland, who was actively involved in the previous stakeholder dialogue submitted a statement in the association hearing.
In the midst of a global discussion on whether natural gas should be used as a transitional fuel and whether emissions from its extraction, production, transport and use are significantly less than those from other fossil fuels, Russia has developed ambitious plans to increase its own production of liquified natural gas (LNG) in the Arctic – a region with 75% of proven gas reserves in Russia – to raise its share in the international gas trade.
In this news digest, we monitor events that impact the environment in the Russian Arctic. Our main focus lies in identifying the factors that contribute to pollution risks and climate change.