The Ministère de l’Environnement et de la Lutte contre les changements climatiques has awarded funding to Polytechnique Montréal for Valorisation Carbone Québec - a research and development project seeking technological solutions for the capture and valorization of carbon dioxide (CO2).
The goal of the Valorisation Carbone Québec project is to accelerate the development and demonstration of commercially viable solutions applicable to Québec, for the capture and use CO2 in applications and in value-added products such as synthetic fuels. Led by Full Professor Louis Fradette (Director, Department of Chemical Engineering) and supervised by the Institute on Sustainable Engineering and Net Zero Economy (IIDEC), this research and development project is also being carried out in association with Université Laval and private and public sector organizations.
The project’s first phase began in 2017, and focused on the design and construction of a carbon dioxide recovery unit as well as the installation and operation of a gas capture unit. These two developments made it possible to collect data on captured CO2 emanating from industrial chimneys. During this new phase of the project, implicated partners are looking to deepen their research on captured gas valorization processes. Research and development will be used in Quebec’s and Canada’s industrial sectors, as well as internationally.
“Thanks to the recent creation of Polytechnique Montréal’s Institute on Sustainable Engineering and Net Zero Economy, an entire ecosystem of innovation and knowledge transfer is being deployed to benefit society,” emphasizes Philippe A. Tanguy, Polytechnique Montréal President. “The VCQ project will enable us to continue developing technology to capture industrial CO2 and use it to upgrade green products. All kinds of brilliant talent and skillfull expertise are mobilized to offer concrete, responsible solutions to the climate challenges that affect us all – this is the very core of our engineering university."
“Carbon sequestration and valorization technologies represent interesting prospects - both in the fight against climate change and in terms of economic development. These same goals are present in our 2030 Plan for a Green Economy. We are proud to support an initiative like the Valorisation Carbone Québec project, which will open Québec’s economy to new markets, and help our major emitters reduce their greenhouse gas emissions," comments Benoit Charette, Ministre de l’Environnement et de la Lutte contre les changements climatiques, and Ministre responsable de la Lutte contre le racisme.
The Valorisation Carbone Québec project is one of the first projects supervised by Polytechnique Montréal’s Institute on Sustainable Engineering and Net Zero Economy, the establishment of which was announced in December 2020 as part of the 26th edition of the Montreal Conference organized by the International Economic Forum of the Americas. IIDEC is dedicated to solving environmental and social challenges related to sustainable economic development.
IIDEC will develop – among other focuses - Polytechnique's current areas of expertise, namely green energy and chemistry, water, critical metals and minerals, plastics, transportation electrification and decarbonization, recycled organic printed electronics, waste management, the impact and societal acceptability of technologies as well as life cycle analysis.
This article was first published on 9 March by Polytechnique Montréal.
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