Enerkem has began construction of a municipal waste-to-biofuels facility with its partners, the City of Edmonton and the Government of Alberta in Canada.

Alberta premier Ed Stelmach, and Edmonton mayor Stephen Mandel along with Enerkem chief executive officer Vincent Chornet took part in the ceremony.

Enerkem’s biofuels plant, which is being built in Edmonton, Alberta, is, says the firm, the world’s first industrial-scale biofuels project to use municipal solid waste as feedstock.

It will have an annual production capacity of 36 million litres/10 million gallons. Using Enerkem’s proprietary clean technology, the $80 million facility will produce enough biofuels to run more than 400,000 cars a year running on a 5% ethanol blend.

“This groundbreaking marks the launch of a transformative project and leads the first wave of commercial-scale advanced biofuels plants in North America”, said Enerkem’s president and chief executive officer, Vincent Chornet.

“This plant is the genesis of a world transformation where our non-recyclable garbage will power the vehicles we drive and reduce carbon emissions.”

“Alberta is an energy province,” said premier Ed Stelmach: “This project is another example of how our government is helping develop leading-edge renewable and non-renewable energy technology.

“I applaud the vision and dedication the partners have shown to make this pioneering project a reality.”

Luke Walsh

Action inspires action. Stay ahead of the curve with sustainability and energy newsletters from edie

Subscribe