Merritt - FILE PHOTO
Image Credit: Pixabay
October 23, 2021 - 1:20 PM
The Province of B.C. is contributing $2 million to support the engineering and design of a first-of-its-kind plant in Merritt to capture carbon dioxide and convert it to clean fuels.
The Merritt Electro Fuels Project will take carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere and convert it into clean fuels, said Minister of Energy Bruce Ralston, in a press release issued by the province.
"This innovative, world-leading project will support our economy's shift away from fossil fuels while creating new jobs and opportunities for British Columbians."
Squamish-based Huron Clean Energy proposes to finance, design, build and operate the commercial plant, which will capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and convert it into low-carbon synthetic fuels that can be used to replace standard diesel, marine and aviation fuels, through a process called Air-2-Fuels, according to the province.
The project will use B.C. Hydro's hydroelectricity and integrate green hydrogen production.
Huron Clean Energy's Merritt Electro Fuels Project will create roughly 620 direct jobs during the design and development phases of the project, with another 4,780 direct jobs during construction and 340 long-term jobs during the plant's operation.
Huron has an equity partnership and land-lease arrangement with the Upper Nicola Band, which will receive a substantial part of the equity interest in the project as consideration for the land lease and other services.
Huron has also entered into a partnership with Oxy Low Carbon Ventures and also has an exclusive licensing arrangement for Canada with Carbon Engineering, a B.C.-based company leading the world in "negative emissions technology" that removes carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere through direct air capture.
The Merritt Electro Fuels Project is expected to prove the technical and business case for direct air capture and fuel synthesis, which could lead to the development of other commercial plants across Canada and other jurisdictions.
The plant will produce 103 million litres of low-carbon fuel per year requiring the annual input of 250,000 tonnes of captured carbon, 315 megawatts of electricity and 35,200 tonnes of hydrogen for the fuel synthesis process.
B.C. Hydro recently announced a five-year electrification plan including more than $50 million to attract new industries to B.C., focusing on companies that want to use B.C.'s clean electricity to produce low-carbon products.
To contact a reporter for this story, email Carli Berry or call 250-864-7494 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.
We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above.
News from © iNFOnews, 2021