The following press release has been provided by Carbon Engineering Ltd.
Squamish, B.C. (June 11, 2020) – Today, Carbon Engineering Ltd. (CE), a Canadian clean energy company pioneering technologies to remove or reuse carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere, has broken ground on its new Innovation Centre in Squamish, B.C., due to be completed by August, 2021.
The Carbon Engineering Innovation Centre will be CE’s permanent business and advanced development headquarters where the company will further optimize and innovate its groundbreaking carbon removal and clean energy solutions. CE’s Direct Air Capture (DAC) technology removes CO2 directly from the atmosphere at large scale, and its complementary AIR TO FUELSTM technology produces ultra-low carbon intensity fuels out of captured atmospheric CO2, water, and clean electricity.
“This is a very exciting milestone for CE,” said Steve Oldham, CEO of CE. “The Innovation Centre will enable us to continue to advance our technology here in Squamish, British Columbia, positioning CE as a global leader in the critical and growing field of Direct Air Capture. The Innovation Centre will allow CE to optimize and improve its technology which can help countries, companies, and individuals achieve their net zero targets and make a material impact in the fight against climate change.”
Located in the Oceanfront Squamish Development, south of downtown Squamish, the centre will include a 1,250m2 building to be used as an operations and laboratory space, and a new, fully integrated Direct Air Capture and AIR TO FUELSTM plant. Construction of the project will create approximately 45 full-time local jobs over the span of a year, in addition to the current Carbon Engineering team of 90 full-time employees.
Carbon Engineering’s Innovation Centre is being constructed concurrently with the design and engineering work of CE’s first commercial plant which, when completed, will be the world’s largest DAC facility, capable of capturing one million tons of CO2 per year.
CE marked the breaking ground moment with a small, socially-distant gathering at the site in Squamish, which was attended by the Honourable Bruce Ralston, Minister of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources, Her Worship Karen Elliott, District of Squamish Mayor, and John Matthews of Matthews West, the real-estate development company managing the Oceanfront Squamish project.
Development of the Innovation Centre is supported by a CA$25 million repayable contribution by the Government of Canada’s Strategic Innovation Fund and over CA$100 million of private funding from CE’s investors.
About Carbon Engineering (CE):
Founded in 2009, CE is a Canadian-based clean energy company focused on the deployment of Direct Air Capture (DAC) technology that captures carbon dioxide (CO2) directly from the atmosphere so it can be permanently stored deep underground or used to produce clean, affordable transportation fuels. From a pilot plant in Squamish, British Columbia, CE has been removing CO2 from the atmosphere since 2015 and converting it into fuels since 2017. Today, with its partner Oxy Low Carbon Ventures, CE is engineering a commercial scale DAC facility that will capture one million tons of CO2 per year, equivalent to the work of 40 million trees.