The research facility is part of a comprehensive waste-to-biofuels initiative, which also includes a commercial waste-to-biofuels facility, to be built by Enerkem GreenField Alberta Biofuels, and a municipal waste processing facility, being built by the City of Edmonton.
The research facility, a collaboration between Enerkem, the City of Edmonton and the Alberta Energy Research Institute (AERI), will focus on the conversion of various types of waste from industrial sectors and from the municipal sector, to produce green transportation fuels and chemicals. It will be adjacent to the commercial waste-to-biofuels production facility, which will soon begin construction and will at term produce 36 million litres of ethanol per year.
"Enerkem is proud to take part in this unprecedented project that will keep more waste out of landfills, will reduce GHG emissions and will allow for the production of green transportation fuels," said Vincent Chornet, President and Chief Executive Officer of Enerkem. "The joint energy research facility and our commercial waste-to-biofuels production facility, demonstrate our company's leading position in waste processing and in the production of advanced biofuels."
Enerkem will conduct some of its advanced research at this research facility, which will be led by Dr. Esteban Chornet, co-founder of Enerkem and a world-leading scientist in the use of thermo catalysis for developing alternative fuels from waste. The research facility will include laboratory equipment and a well-instrumented pilot plant. Enerkem will develop the research facility in collaboration with the City of Edmonton. Construction completion is scheduled for the first quarter of 2010. Funding for the $10 million center comes from the Government of Alberta through AERI.
About Enerkem
Enerkem (www.enerkemweb.wpengine.com) is a leading waste-to-biofuels and green chemicals technology company. It has developed a unique gasification, sequential gas conditioning and catalysis technology platform, capable of using a mix of feedstock, such as sorted municipal solid waste, forest biomass and agricultural residues. The company is headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, and has engineering offices in Sherbrooke, Quebec. It has a pilot plant, in operation since 2003, in Sherbrooke, Quebec. Enerkem's first commercial-scale plant is based in Westbury, Quebec. In addition to its waste-to-biofuels plant in Edmonton, Alberta, the Company is also developing a second-generation biofuels production facility to be located in Pontotoc, Mississippi. Enerkem is a private company, financed by leading US venture capital firms Rho Ventures and Braemar Energy Ventures, the Canadian investment fund BDR Capital and the Company's management.
About the City of Edmonton
The City of Edmonton (www.edmonton.ca) is at the forefront of waste management practices having established the leading Edmonton Waste Management Centre (EWMC) and associated Centre of Excellence. The EWMC is North America's largest collection of modern, sustainable waste processing and research facilities. Facilities at the 233-hectare site include a Materials Recovery Facility, the Edmonton Composting Facility, the GEEP Electric and Electronic Waste Recycling Facility, the Clover Bar Landfill, a leachate treatment plant, a landfill gas to electricity system, a construction and demolition waste recycling operation, and a research facility. At the development stage is the waste-to-biofuels project.
About Alberta Energy Research Institute (AERI)
The mission of the Alberta Energy Research Institute (www.aeri.ab.ca) is to increase the energy industry's capacity to develop and adapt innovative technologies that maximize the value of Alberta's natural and renewable resources. AERI develops and implements the energy innovation strategy for Alberta and, in partnership with industry and other government agencies, invests in collaborative applied research, technology development and pilot demonstrations along the entire innovation chain. AERI's six strategic programs areas are: Bitumen Upgrading, Clean Carbon/Coal, Improved Recovery, Renewables, CO2 & Emissions and Water Use.
Marie-Hélène Labrie, Vice-President, Government Affairs and Communications Enerkem Inc., (514) 875-0284 x 231,
mlabrie@enerkem.com
