GHGSat gets $454K for clean technology demo

Greenhouse gas emissions monitoring airborne sensor. Credit: GHGSat.

Natural Resources Canada has awarded GHGSat $453,993 to demonstrate their hybrid satellite-aircraft system in support of advancing emerging clean technologies.

The announcement was made at the GLOBE Forum 2022 by the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Natural Resources. A total of over $12 million was awarded to seven organizations.

The projects awarded funding were:

  • $453,993 to GHGSat Inc. in Montney, British Columbia, to demonstrate that GHGSat’s satellite-aircraft hybrid system provides equivalent annual methane leak mitigation compared with optical gas imaging (OGI) surveys, while detecting major leaks at least three times more quickly, all at a 25 percent lower cost to operators.
  • $4,583,000 to Canfor Pulp Limited in Prince George, British Columbia, to execute a front-end engineering design study to support a biomass to low-carbon biofuel plant, which will produce advanced biofuels that can be used as a liquid transportation fuel;
  • $2,000,000 to Saltworks Technologies Inc. in Vancouver, British Columbia, to accelerate the commercialization of a desalination technology to treat water from conventional oil production;
  • $1,852,941 to ArcelorMittal Dofasco in Hamilton, Ontario, to demonstrate the ability to use biocarbon in an industrial blast furnace in support of future commercial technology demonstration at the ArcelorMittal Dofasco plant;
  • $1,601,950 to the University of Toronto in Toronto, Ontario, to develop an electrocatalytic-based carbon dioxide (CO2) conversion technology, which can convert captured CO2 into low-carbon-intensity synthetic methane (CH4) using clean electricity and water;
  • $1,160,587 to the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, British Columbia, to create breakthrough advances in thermochemical processes to economically produce renewable natural gas from forest residues; and
  • $700,000 to Applied Quantum Materials Inc. in Edmonton, Alberta, to convert ordinary glass windows into scalable luminescent solar concentrators for the generation of electrical power.

Stephane Germain, President and CEO, GHGSat said “GHGSat’s satellite and aircraft technology has been proven in the United States and internationally, and this project provides an opportunity to validate its performance in Canada. We are privileged to work with NRCan, the Natural Gas Innovation Fund and Sustainable Development Technology Canada on this project.”

GHGSat received its funding “under the Energy Innovation Program (EIP), which provides $24 million annually to advance clean energy technologies that will help Canada meet its climate change targets while supporting the transition to a low-carbon economy. It funds research, development and demonstration projects and other related scientific activities.”

About Marc Boucher

Boucher is an entrepreneur, writer, editor & publisher. He is the founder of SpaceQ Media Inc. and CEO and co-founder of SpaceRef Interactive LLC. Boucher has 20+ years working in various roles in the space industry and a total of 30 years as a technology entrepreneur including creating Maple Square, Canada's first internet directory and search engine.

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