Svante Inc. is expanding its presence in Burnaby.
The company held a ground-breaking ceremony on Monday (June 13) to mark construction of its new headquarters, which will be named 'The Centre of Excellence for Carbon Capture and Removal.'
The company says the building will be Canada's first-of-a-kind commercial-scale carbon capture and removal manufacturing facility. Patented filter modules will be produced for the capture of carbon dioxide emissions from the atmosphere and from industrial flue gas.
The new building is set to allow Svante to expand its commercial manufacturing facilities filter modules capable of removing 10 million tonnes per year of carbon dioxide (CO2).
"Here, we'll employ over 200 British Columbians and many more around the globe," said Svante Inc. Brett Henkel, who began the company in his garage in 2007.
"We'll be able to scale up our commercial manufacturing facilities to deliver filter modules that can capture millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide every year, both from the atmosphere and from industrial flue gas. I'm thrilled at the opportunity we have in front of us today... to make a real, global impact... To take action on climate change."
In July 2021, Ottawa announced $25 million in funding for the company's carbon capture technology.
Svante said the $97.22-million project would develop low-cost carbon capture technology that will prevent the significant release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere from sites like cement and blue hydrogen plants.
The funding is also set to help Svante manufacture its proprietary solid filter and machine products at a commercial scale.
The company is planning to manufacture systems with the ability to capture up to 2,000 tons of CO2 per day, depending on the application.
The technology could be used to help reduce emissions in many industrial processes where abatement remains challenging and costly in the foreseeable term, which includes oil, gas and hydrogen.
The government said similar technology are already being used through ongoing projects with another B.C. company Lafarge Holcim and Total S.A. in Richmond, as well as Husky Energy in Lloydminster, Sask.
"What an exciting day today is for Burnaby and for the future of climate technology," Burnaby Mayor Mike Hurley adds.
"We want to build a world that runs on clean technology, and we want to make Burnaby a carbon-neutral city by 2050 — If not sooner. Companies like Svante will be a key part of our push to achieving that goal.
"With so much going on in the world right now, there are times when the future can look bleak. But when you hear about innovation going on right here in Burnaby, at Svante, you start to feel a little more optimistic. We are extremely excited for the future of this company and for the future of our community.”
