By Troy Gillard

Alberta invests $10M in innovative biorefinery

Oct 15, 2020 | 4:52 PM

LACOMBE, AB – It’s a substantial economic boost coming for the central Alberta region.

The provincial government announced Thursday that it is providing $10 million from the Technology Innovation and Emissions Reduction (TIER) fund through Emissions Reduction Alberta towards the building of a $45-million clean energy and organic fertilizer facility in Lacombe.

The Lacombe Biorefinery is billed as innovative facility that will create jobs, cut emissions and transform agricultural and plant waste. Provincial officials say the project will support up to 80 construction jobs and about 25 full-time jobs in Lacombe and Calgary, and that the facility will also cut about 40,000 tonnes of emissions each year – equivalent to taking about 8,500 cars off the road.

“The Lacombe Biorefinery is a leading-edge example of Alberta innovation in action,” said Environment and Parks Minister Jason Nixon. “The province is fast becoming a hub for projects that process waste while creating more value for key industries like livestock and farming, and substantially reduce emissions.”

The province says the new facility will have economic and environmental benefits for the Lacombe area. BioRefinex technology has the potential to help agriculture industries in Alberta, and across Canada, save millions of dollars by cutting the disposal costs for animal and plant waste.

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“On behalf of the City of Lacombe, I want to thank the Government of Alberta for this investment in our local economy. The trust given to this agribusiness initiative will help our community continue to thrive through challenging economic times. This development is consistent with Lacombe’s long-standing leadership in farming and agriculture innovation,” said Lacombe Mayor Grant Creasey.

“Since the earliest homesteaders arrived in Central Alberta, agriculture has always been the cornerstone of life here,” said Paula Law, Reeve for Lacombe County. “This area of the province – with its convenient location along the QEII corridor – is the perfect place for agribusinesses and agritech to flourish. I’m pleased that the provincial government sees that potential here, as well.”

The Lacombe Biorefinery will be the first facility in the world to showcase the full application of a technology called BioRefinex thermal hydrolysis, an Alberta-made technology that uses high heat, high pressure and water to turn animal and plant waste from agriculture and food processing into organic fertilizer and renewable natural gas. The fertilizer will be available to customers in Alberta and the renewable natural gas will go into the local distribution system.

“We thank the province and Emissions Reduction Alberta for their leadership and support in helping make this important project become a reality. The City of Lacombe and the central Alberta region is a great place to demonstrate innovation and total sustainable solutions in agriculture. We are excited to move this project forward, working with dairy farmers, livestock producers, feedlots, meat packing plants, and other food processors to show an entirely new way of transforming organic waste materials into valuable products.” Chris Thrall, president and CEO, BioRefinex Canada Inc.

Enbridge Gas is matching provincial funding with $10 million for the renewable natural gas part of the new facility, which will have the capacity to generate enough renewable natural gas to heat more than 1,000 homes each year.

Construction work is slated for 2021 with the biorefinery expected to begin operating in 2022.

(With file from Government of Alberta, City of Lacombe media releases)