Canada Invests $2.5M in Domestic Carbon-Management Technology

In light of interrupted trade relationships and international irresolution, Canada is actively funding domestic carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) technologies to continue greenhouse gas mitigation efforts; specifically, TerraFixing’s direct air capture (DAC) in Ottawa. The Energy Innovation Program (EIP) invested $2.5 million in the company’s DAC project, which uses large-scale CO₂-capture beds for colder climates.

TerraFixing’s structured zeolite packing leverages a porous mineral that extracts CO₂ from the atmosphere, reducing pressure drop and enabling mass CO₂ transport. The primary goal is to pack a 1,000-tons-per-year model into a shipping container, lowering costs below $100 per ton of CO₂ at an increased scale.

"EIP's CCUS Capture contribution has been catalytic for TerraFixing,” said Dr. Vida Gabriel, Co-Founder and CEO/COO, TerraFixing. “With the funding, we've built a state-of-the-art lab, doubled our team, and developed a new manufacturing IP that we're now moving from benchtop to a pilot production line in a warehouse right here in Ottawa. The program's support is helping us keep technology and IP in Canada, create supply chain independence from the United States, and stimulate the creation of hundreds of high-skilled jobs on the path of making Canada a leader in CCUS."

Venn diagram of TerraFixing's tech | Image Credit: TerraFixing

The EIP’s TerraFixing funding comes under the Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage Research, Development, and Demonstration (RD&D) program. RD&D promotes next-generation CCS technologies that may reduce costs via three avenues: capture, storage and transportation, and utilization.

• Capture: Cuts cost and improves the performance of capture technologies across various emission sources.
• Storage and Transportation: Classifies and develops safety-minded, permanent underground CO₂ sequestration and technologies. This avenue supports efficient CO₂ transportation and domestic storage opportunities.
• Utilization: RD&D promotes CO₂ utilization technologies that lower costs, energy usage, and carbon intensity.

Carbon-Capture Technologies

At the 2024 Turbomachinery & Pump Symposia, folks from Siemens Energy, including Lukas Biyikli, R&D Portfolio Manager of Integrally Geared Compressors, and Mike Welch, Industry Marketing Manager, presented on the Integration of CO₂ Capture Plants with Open Cycle Gas Turbines.

According to Welch, carbon capture is a difficult process when using gas turbines: “The only certain thing about CO₂ capture is that you’ll need a lot of space and it’ll cost you a lot of money—it’s not a cheap solution. Most of the processes are designed to operate at low ambient temperatures, so you become limited to the available technologies when operating with a gas turbine. There are only a few [technologies] that don’t require cooling of the gas turbine exhaust and most of the emerging technologies can’t support large-scale turbines.”

Modular Amine Towers: Often applied to smaller emitters that generate less than 1,000 tons of CO₂ per day. With a smaller footprint, towers have shorter construction times and can be used at space-constrained sites, such as offshore platforms.

Rotating Packed Beds: Features enhanced CO₂ adsorption through centrifugal force, but generally lower capture rates at approximately 100 tons per day.

Potassium Carbonate: Proven for gas processing and scalable to large CO₂ capture volumes. The energy demand is similar to amine towers, but these systems can use hot water for solvent desorption. On the downside, potassium carbonate operates with low flue gas inlet temperatures.

Hot Potassium Carbonate: Unlike typical potassium carbonate, it operates at high flue gas temperatures in a pressurized process. It can generate its own electricity and gas turbine supplementary firing can increase CO₂ concentration.

Membranes: These are also proven for gas processing but struggle when applied to gas turbines, as multiple modules are required to achieve the desired capture rate and purity. Membrane contactor modules are a hybrid solution combined with amine solvents.

Cryogenics: Freezes CO₂ out of the flue gas stream.

Electrochemical: Electroswing adsorption can be used on gas streams with any CO₂ concentration and, according to electrochemical operators, can selectively capture NOx and SOx.