Jonathan Wilkinson is the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans, and the Canadian Coast Guard. Recently, he announced an investment of CAN$25 million (about 17 million Euros) in Carbon Engineering Ltd. (CE), a Canadian clean energy company that is pioneering technologies to capture and reuse carbon dioxide (CO₂) from the atmosphere.

This announcement highlights Canada’s continuing support for clean technology innovations and signifies the government’s commitment to deploy technologies that support the transition to a low carbon economy. It follows the company’s recently completed private investment round of CAN$91 million (almost 62 million Euros).

As part of driving a clean-growth economy, this funding will help progress the commercialization of CE’s two clean energy technologies that have been developed and demonstrated at the company’s headquarters in Squamish, British Columbia. The company reports that direct air capture (DAC) technology can remove CO₂ directly from the atmosphere for use or storage; and its complementary Air to Fuels technology produces ultra-low carbon intensity fuels out of captured atmospheric CO₂, water, and clean electricity.

These fuels are cleaner burning than fossil fuels and can power existing cars, trucks, ships, and airplanes without any modifications.

With this funding, CE will design, construct, and operate the Newport Innovation Centre in Squamish, which will include an Advanced Development Facility and a fully integrated DAC and Air to Fuels plant.

This plant will be capable of capturing 4.5 tonnes of CO₂ from the atmosphere and be capable of producing at least 320 litres of ultra-low carbon fuel each day. This facility will be a model for how this air treatment infrastructure can be deployed both nationally and internationally.

“Our government’s investment in Carbon Engineering is a commitment to an innovative economy and to a sector that offers tremendous promise,” said Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development. “Canadian ingenuity is at work to find solutions to one of the world’s most pressing challenges; climate change. We are creating good […] jobs and positioning Canada at the forefront of the growing field of clean technologies.”