Texas firm lands US$12.5M in funding for carbon capture tech
by Cleantech Canada Staff
ConocoPhillips, Enbridge contributing funds to Skyonic Corp. to commercialize its SkyCycle technology
AUSTIN, Texas—A pair of major oil and gas players in Canada and the United States are funding Texas-based Skyonic Corp. as it looks to commercialize its SkyCycle carbon capture technology.
According to Skyonic, it has secured a combined US$12.5 million in funding from ConocoPhillips and Enbridge Inc. to continue developing the post-combustion technology that captures carbon dioxide emissions and transforms them into commercially viable products.
“Skyonic’s innovative technology is a great fit for Enbridge,” Chuck Szmurlo, vice-president of alternative and emerging technology with Calgary-based Enbridge, said in a statement.
“With its potential to replace traditional amine stripping, Skyonic’s advanced technology could play an important role in our gas processing business and supports Enbridge’s commitment to a neutral environmental footprint.”
The funding from ConocoPhillips and Enbridge comes just weeks after the Alberta-based Climate Change and Emissions Management Corp. (CCEMC) awarded Skyonic C$500,000 to develop the technology through its Grand Challenge initiative.
Using a thermolytic chemical reaction, the SkyCycle technology converts captured carbon emissions into products like hydrochloric acid and calcium carbonate, also known as limestone, that can be used to make glass, paper, cement, paint and PVC pipe.
The technology will be brought to commercial scale by late 2015 at the Capitol SkyMine in San Antonio, Texas, the world’s first for-profit carbon mineralization plant.
The patented technology is able to remove as much as 94 per cent of emitted carbon dioxide from a plant’s flue stream, regardless of concentration.
Skyonic estimates the carbon capture cost of its SkyCycle technology to be in the neighbourhood of US$16 and US$25 per ton—significantly lower than the current industry estimates that peg the cost at between US$150 and US$450 per ton.
“As emissions regulations continue to develop over the next several years, SkyCycle can help the industry evolve with them” said Joe Jones, founder and chief executive of Skyonic.
“It offers both new and existing plants the flexibility to adjust to a changing environment at a cost that remains easily within reach for any stationary emitter.”
