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Nov 22, 2005

Sustainable Development Technology Canada to Provide $42.5 Million in New Funding For Canadian Clean Technology Projects

From Tar Sand Oil Extraction to Municipal Solid Waste Gasification, SDTC Funding Will Advance 15 Environmentally Friendly Technologies.

OTTAWA, Oct. 20 /CNW/ - Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC) will provide $42.5 million in new funding for clean technology projects.

The funding, approved by SDTC's Board of Directors, will support the development and demonstration of groundbreaking clean technologies and fast-track their progress toward commercialization. Funding for each project is subject to final contract negotiations.

"SDTC is committed to building Canada's sustainable development technology infrastructure through support for promising new clean technologies," said SDTC Chairman James M. Stanford. "Much more than a funding partner, we help entrepreneurs connect with partners, formalize business plans and qualify for venture-capital financing."

The private and public sector consortia partners behind the projects are investing an additional $91 million, representing a more than 2:1 ratio of industry-partner contribution to SDTC investment.

SDTC continues to be on track to allocate all of its funds up to December 2010.

"Canada's commitment to the development of clean technologies will allow Canadians to enjoy a better quality of life now and in the future," said the Honourable John McCallum, Minister of National Revenue and Minister of Natural Resources. "NRCan is pleased to support SDTC as it continues to bring cutting-edge technology to the marketplace."

"The Government of Canada strongly believes that technological advances and innovation are vital tools for achieving Canada's - and indeed, the world's - environmental goals" said the Honourable Stéphane Dion, Minister of the Environment. "New technologies will help Canadians reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and improve our air quality, while enjoying the benefits of a productive, competitive and sustainable economy. This is the philosophy behind Project Green, the Government of Canada's broad environmental vision that links Canada's economic competitiveness and prosperity to a sustainable future."

Since April 2002, SDTC has completed seven funding rounds, committed $169 million to 75 clean technology projects, and leveraged $446 million from project consortia members, for a total portfolio value of $615 million.

"The technologies represented in SDTC's seventh funding round offer significant potential to benefit Canada's economy and the world's environment," said Vicky J. Sharpe, President and CEO of SDTC. "It is gratifying to see a continuous flow of funding applications across all economic sectors, demonstrating SDTC's ongoing contribution to the Government of Canada's sustainable development initiatives. The applications we receive are exceptional both in quantity and strength."

About SDTC

Sustainable Development Technology Canada is a foundation created by the Government of Canada that operates a $550 million fund to support the development and demonstration of clean technologies - solutions that address issues of climate change and clean air, water and soil to deliver environmental, economic and health benefits to Canadians. An arm's length, not-for-profit corporation, SDTC fills the void in the innovation chain between research and commercialization - helping clean technology developers move through the development and demonstration phases, in preparation for commercialization. SDTC applies a stringent due diligence process when selecting technologies to support and requires every applicant to involve a consortia of partners in their project.

SDTC encourages collaboration among private, financial, academic, public sector partners and with the Government of Canada and all levels of government to build a sustainable development infrastructure in Canada.

Lead Organization: SHEC LABS - Solar Hydrogen Energy Corporation, Saskatoon, Sask.
Economic Category: Energy Exploration and Production
Environmental Benefit: Climate Change/Clean Air
Consortium members:
• Clean 16 Environmental Technologies Corp.
• Giffels Associates Limited (An Ingenium Group Company)
• University of Toronto - Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry
• Praxair Canada Inc.

Project Description

The consortium led by SHEC LABS will demonstrate hydrogen production using solar energy, featuring the world's first commercial-scale renewable solar hydrogen "Dry Fuel Reformation" (DFR) reactors, unique solar concentrator designs and "Direct Water Splitting" (DWS) technologies. Natural gas will be used initially to verify the performance of the DFR systems, with the ultimate goal of testing the complete DFR process using landfill gas (methane) at the project's location, the City of Regina Fleet Street landfill. Currently, steam reformation of fossil fuels is responsible for 95 percent of the world's hydrogen production. A key project objective is to demonstrate that SHEC LABS' technology can be cost-competitive with steam methane reformation as well as dramatically reducing greenhouse gas emissions and other air pollutants. SHEC LABS' solar hydrogen production will provide a net energy gain when converting methane into hydrogen since the energy used to drive the process is harvested from the sun. The technology is particularly attractive for smaller and distributed production of hydrogen at end-user sites, but could also be applicable for large-scale hydrogen production in the future. The DWS technology, the next generation of solar hydrogen production, will also be demonstrated on a smaller scale and will involve direct water splitting with only water as the primary feed component.