Canada Invests in Innovative Clean Technology at the University of Alberta

March 31, 2021                                                    Edmonton, Alberta                                             Natural Resources Canada

The Government of Canada believes that innovation and development of clean technologies will help drive our economy, lower emissions and create jobs. This will be more important than ever as we recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Honourable Jim Carr, Special Representative for the Prairies and Member of Parliament of Winnipeg South Centre, on behalf of the Honourable Seamus O’Regan Jr., Canada’s Minister of Natural Resources, today announced a $2,890,000 investment in the University of Alberta’s biojet technology. 

The University of Alberta, along with project partners Alberta Innovates, FORGE Hydrocarbons Inc., Western Economic Diversification Canada, Future Energy Systems, CanmetENERGY Devon and Edmonton International Airport, are also providing funding toward this $7.4-million project.

The investment will support the university’s Lipid-to-Hydrocarbon (LTH) technology by developing pathways to generate renewable jet fuel from a range of feedstocks, including waste materials from the restaurant and livestock industries.

Led by inventor Dr. David Bressler, Professor at the University of Alberta, the LTH technology has the potential to reduce the aviation industry’s greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) by 90 percent. This will create a solution that is both safer and cleaner compared to traditional jet fuels, which are primarily derived from oil.

In addition, the commercial deployment of the technology, with multiple plants in various locations in Canada, will create jobs and other economic opportunities.

This project is funded through Natural Resources Canada’s Energy Innovation Program (EIP), which invests in the research, development and demonstration of clean energy technologies to lower emissions, including GHGs, with the aim of meeting 2050 clean growth targets. The EIP recognizes that innovations in clean energy technologies must be affordable, reliable and sustainable to support Canada’s transition toward a low-carbon economy.

The Energy Innovation Program also provided support to the University of Alberta for the capacity to collaborate with the CanmetENERGY laboratory in Devon, Alberta, which will develop methods and processes for converting distillate cuts from the LTH technology into biojet fuel. This investment was through the program’s Science and Technology Assistance for Cleantech initiative, which provides federal laboratory support for innovators to help bring Canadian clean technologies to market by providing federal research expertise, facilities and equipment.

The government continues to support innovative clean energy technology projects that enable clean, competitive and sustainable natural resource sectors