The lonely blue barn on the Squamish Oceanfront lands will soon be occupied.
Calgary firm Carbon Engineering has announced it will install its first pilot plant in the building.
The company creates technology that captures carbon dioxide from the air.
“Our goal is to develop and market a system that can scrub CO2 from the air,” Geoff Holmes, Carbon Engineering’s business development manager, said in a news release. “Ultimately, the project will serve to help manufacture fuels that have lower carbon intensity than conventional oil, and even lower than biofuels.”
The company is the only Canadian finalist in the $25-million Virgin Earth Challenge. Top prize in the contest will go to the firm that can remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere in the most environmentally sustainable and economical way, according to the release.
The Squamish pilot plant is part of Carbon Engineering’s effort to demonstrate the commercial viability of its technology.
“The project will involve running our equipment for between six and 12 months, absorb CO2 out of the air, and obtain performance data,” said Holmes.
Installation of the plant will get underway next month.
In September 2014 Carbon Engineering announced it was signing a temporary lease with the District of Squamish and the Oceanfront properties’ potential new owner, Newport Beach Partnership Ltd., to pave the way for the pilot project.
