The Government of Canada announced a $2,890,000-investment in the University of Alberta’s biojet technology. The University of Alberta, along with project partners Alberta Innovates, FORGE Hydrocarbons Inc., Western Economic Diversification Canada, Future Energy Systems, CanmetENERGY Devon and Edmonton International Airport, are also providing funding toward this $7.4-million project.

The investment will support the university’s Lipid-to-Hydrocarbon (LTH) technology by developing two pathways to generate renewable jet fuel from a range of feedstocks, including waste materials from the restaurant and livestock industries.

Led by inventor Dr. David Bressler, Professor at the University of Alberta, the LTH technology has the potential to reduce the aviation industry’s greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) by 90%.

The first approach will focus on modifying standardized isomeration approaches currently utilized for the creation of jet fuel from hydrocarbons and other renewable fuels. The second will focus on the optimization and deployment of a novel patented process developed by the Bressler lab.

This project is funded through Natural Resources Canada’s Energy Innovation Program (EIP), which invests in the research, development and demonstration of clean energy technologies to lower emissions, including GHGs, with the aim of meeting 2050 clean growth targets. The EIP recognizes that innovations in clean energy technologies must be affordable, reliable and sustainable to support Canada’s transition toward a low-carbon economy.

The Energy Innovation Program also provided support to the University of Alberta for the capacity to collaborate with the CanmetENERGY laboratory in Devon, Alberta, which will develop methods and processes for converting distillate cuts from the LTH technology into biojet fuel.

This investment was through the program’s Science and Technology Assistance for Cleantech initiative, which provides federal laboratory support for innovators to help bring Canadian clean technologies to market by providing federal research expertise, facilities and equipment.