Natural Resources Canada has announced an investment of more than $14 million to support six carbon management technology projects.
The projects are intended to support research, development and demonstration calls for proposals of next-generation CO₂ capture and storage and transportation technologies.
The federal Carbon Management Strategy, released in 2023, sets out a vision for carbon management technologies to be deployed to help achieve Canada’s climate objectives and meet the target of net zero by 2050.
“We are grateful to the Government of Canada for its investment in our groundbreaking in process tailings carbonation technology, which allows our flagship Crawford Nickel Sulphide Project the ability to become one of Canada’s largest permanent carbon storage facilities by sequestering up to 1.5 million tonnes of CO₂ annually during the peak production period,” announced Mark Selby, CEO of Canada Nickel Company, which is one of the funding recipients.
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Canada carbon storage technology projects
From: Natural Resources Canada
Project: Computational and experimental research and development of advanced sorbents for achieving low-cost, efficient, direct air capture systems.
Recipient: Université Laval
Location: Quebec
Funding: $600K
Summary: This project aims to conduct research focused on identifying efficient and cost-competitive solid adsorbents for direct air capture (DAC) applications using an integrated molecular modelling and machine learning technique and to validate their performance through experiments.
Project: Novel carbon storage solution through critical minerals production: process tailings carbonation
Recipient: Canada Nickel Company Inc.
Location: Ontario
Funding: $3.3M
Summary: This project will utilize ultramafic tailings from nickel mining as a permanent, geologically stable CO₂ sequestration solution through proprietary in-process tailings (IPT) carbonation technology. It seeks to de-risk and demonstrate the sequestration potential of Canada Nickel’s IPT carbonation technology at the pilot-plant level, with successful outcomes enabling millions of tonnes of annual CO₂ sequestration if the intended mine becomes operational. Additionally, the project will validate the stability and permanence of carbon sequestration in tailings, providing detailed demonstrations and reports.
Project: Direct air capture of CO₂ using pH-swing and electrochemical capture liquid regeneration
Recipient: University of Toronto
Location: Ontario
Funding: $2.5M
Summary: This project aims to leverage low-cost, renewable, electric DAC removal process to capture and concentrate atmosphere CO₂ into a pure stream for geological storage or utilization in CO₂ market.
Project: Captage supersonique du CO₂ en provenance de sources industrielles
Recipient: Université de Sherbrooke (Laboratoire LOCUS)
Location: Quebec
Funding: $500K
Summary: The project aims to improve cryogenic/expansion technology via laboratory research and development to develop an innovative supersonic carbon capture process, adaptable to various industrial sources at low cost.
Project: Enbridge-Imperial conventional CO₂ storage assessment for Ontario
Recipient: Enbridge Gas Inc.
Location: Ontario
Funding: $5M
Summary: This project aims to successfully characterize the CO₂ storage potential in the Cambrian saline reservoir in Southwestern Ontario to improve planning for future CO₂ hubs in the region. This project aims to de-risk CCS in the region by reducing geological uncertainty to enable industry investment in capture, transportation and storage hub planning, in addition to furthering Canada’s 2050 net-zero emissions initiatives.
Project: Development of extraction and carbonation technology for ultramatic rocks
Recipient: Kemetco Research Inc.
Location: British Columbia
Funding: $2.2M
Summary: This project aims to develop technology for large-scale carbon sequestration while creating reserves of critical minerals. By eliminating the smelting process in nickel mining, it addresses environmental challenges, enhances Canada’s cleantech and CCUS sector, and positions the country as a global leader in mineralization technologies. It will generate new intellectual property, inspire nationwide innovation, drive industry adoption, deliver economic benefits and advance the commercialization of the technology.
