Natural Resources Canada awards $15M to SAF, RNG and biochar projects
March 12, 2024
BY Erin Voegele
Natural Resources Canada on March 8 awarded $15 million to six clean fuel projects, including those focused on renewable natural gas (RNG), sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), and the use of wood biomass to produce renewable energy.
Azure Sustainable Fuels Corp. was awarded $5 million for a front-end engineering (FEED) study to support the construction and operation of a SAF production facility in Port Colborne, Ontario. The FEED study is expected to be complete by the end of this year, with construction to commence immediately following a positive final investment decision (FID). The proposed Port Colbourne SAF plant is one of three projects Azure is progressing in Canada. The company in late 2023 also announced plans to develop a SAF plant in Kansas.
StormFisher Hydrogen was awarded $4.9 million to support a FEED study for a RNG production facility at BMI’s Multimodal Hub in Thorold, Ontario. The FEED study is currently planned for completion in mid-2025, with project construction expected to be complete in 2027. The project aims to combine renewable electricity from Ontario’s clean grid along with biogenic carbon dioxide emissions from local industry to produce 1.25 million gigajoules of RNG. The proposed project will would anchor an innovative hydrogen hub in Thorold, according to Natural Resources Canada.
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The agency also warded more than $5 million to CHAR Technologies to support FEED studies that will enable the company to replicate its woody-biomass-to-renewable-energy facility in Thorold to other parts of Canada, with four facilities proposed for development in Kirkland Lake, Ontario; Drayton Valley, Alberta; and Saint Félicien and La Sarre, Quebec. The Thorold facility, located at BMI’s Multimodal Hub, was supported by a previous $5 million investment from Natural Resources Canada. Construction on that facility is nearly complete and expected to begin commercial operations this year. Once operational, the plant will convert wood biomass into renewable energy, such as RNG and biocarbon.
A full copy of the funding announcement is available on the Natural Resource Canada website
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