Oilsands producer Suncor invests in carbon capture technology firm Svante

CALGARY — Suncor Energy Inc. says it is investing in carbon capture technology company Svante Inc. as it looks for ways to reduce or offset greenhouse gas emissions from its extensive oil and gas operations

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Suncor CEO Mark Little says its investment in Vancouver-based Svante will support the commercialization of a technology that could cut the cost of carbon capture, adding it will also be a collaborative partner.

Calgary-based Suncor has targeted an emissions intensity reduction from its petroleum production of 30 per cent by 2030 compared with 2014.

Svante says Suncor is taking part in a funding round generating US$25 million, bringing the total under its Series D financing to US$100 million.

It says it has attracted more than US$175 million in funding since it was founded in 2007 to develop its solid sorbent technology, which is to be used to capture carbon dioxide from flue gas, concentrate it, then release it for safe storage or industrial use, at half the capital cost of traditional engineered solutions.

Svante CEO Claude Letourneau says in a news release the company's potential projects would capture CO2 from natural gas industrial boilers, cement and lime operations and industrial hydrogen facilities, spurred by tax credits and carbon pricing in Canada and the U.S.

“Carbon capture is a strategic technology area for Suncor to reduce GHG emissions in our base business and produce blue hydrogen as an energy product," said Little.

"An investment in Svante is expected to support the acceleration of commercial scale deployment of a technology that has the potential to dramatically reduce the cost associated with carbon capture."

Hydrogen is considered to be blue if the GHG emissions from fossil fuels used in its creation are offset by emission reductions, while green hydrogen is made with renewable energy sources.

Svante says it also counts oilsands producer Cenovus Energy Inc. as an investor.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 18, 2021.

Companies in this story: (TSX:SU, TSX:CVE)

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