In Alberta, Canada, Francis Drouin, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, has announced on behalf of the Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, an investment of more than CA$1.4 million to support SixRing Inc.’s next phase of development to scale up production.
A subsidiary of Calgary-based Fluid Energy Group Ltd, SixRing has developed a suite of proprietary chemical formulas, methods, and low-energy processes for biomass delignification to create biofuels, including sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and advanced materials from sustainable cellulose.
The funding, which is subject to negotiation of a contribution agreement, will be used for scaling the company’s unique proprietary low-energy biomass conversion process that occurs at ambient temperatures and pressures, to convert agricultural waste into renewable fuels and sustainable advanced materials.
The agriculture sector is working hard to propel climate action to build a healthy future for Canada. Under the Agricultural Clean Technology program, this investment in SixRing Inc. will ensure our farmers grow their profits, protect our environment and continue to feed the world sustainably, said Francis Drouin, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food.
R&D to scale-up production
The bioeconomy holds tremendous potential for Canada, helping to reduce the country’s carbon footprint and creating new opportunities to grow the economy. Replacing non-renewable sources of fuel and energy with greener alternatives maximizes the use of agricultural resources and adds value to products once considered to be waste.
Under the Agricultural Clean Technology Program, this investment in SixRing’s proprietary technology will enable the company to significantly scale up its production through research and development (R&D) activities.
This phase of development will also include intensive testing of underused feedstock and improving production efficiencies to optimize the company’s technology.
Utilizing this low carbon-intensity solution to manage agricultural waste will help to significantly reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and generate additional farm revenues across the country.
Investments in clean technology are supporting farmers and agri-businesses to become more resilient in the face of extreme weather events. This investment in SixRing builds on work already underway to develop technologies that help major industries tackle climate change, said The Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food.
Supporting innovation in the agricultural sector
Canada’s recently announced 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan highlights the actions needed to reduce emissions in various sectors of the economy.
With the Emissions Reduction Plan, the Canadian Government has committed an additional CA$330 million to the Agricultural Clean Technology (ACT) Program, tripling the support for innovation and the development and adoption of clean technologies in the agricultural sector.
This funding contribution will greatly assist in accelerating our SixRing crop-based feedstock research and process optimization. We look forward to supporting our agricultural industry by generating new avenues of revenue from these crop waste products while allowing for greater access to low carbon-intensity, non-food-based sustainable fuels including SAF, renewable diesel- and gasoline, said Clay Purdy, CEO, and Chairman, SixRing.
Earlier this year Edmonton International Airport (EIA) and SixRing, signed an agreement to utilize the SixRing process to produce one of the world’s cleanest drop-in aviation fuels, to explore possible collaboration to secure clean-hydrogen supplies as a key input and to work together to scale SixRing technology to other airports and transportation hubs in Canada and globally.
EIA will support SixRing by making introductions to airlines and industry partners.
