Vancouver’s Inventys Thermal Technologies announced a research and development agreement Tuesday to develop the VeloxoTherm carbon capture system with Suncor Energy.
The program is funded partly by the federal government’s Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program.
Carbon dioxide can be buried or used for enhanced oil recovery whereby it is injected into oil fields to push oil to the surface. But there could be a complication on the horizon.
New Alberta Premier Alison Redford plans to re-evaluate the feasibility of Alberta government subsidies for carbon capture and storage. Some $400 million remaining in the $2 billion program is now in jeopardy.
The Project Pioneer – a TransAlta, Capital Power and Enbridge joint venture retrofit of a coal-fired power plant – faces an uncertain future. The government already committed $285 million for Swan Hills Synfuels, $745 million for Shell Quest and the $495 million Alberta Carbon Trunk Line.
“This new agreement with Suncor represents a significant milestone for us, as we advance our commercialization strategy,” said Andre Boulet, president and CEO of Inventys.
Inventys boasts that its proprietary VeloxoTherm process is one-third the cost of other technologies. Critics say carbon capture and storage is a risky, unproven technology that only hides pollution.
Bob Mackin