NGIF Capital Corporation Announces Launch of Emissions Testing Centre with Support from Natural Resources Canada

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NGIF Capital Corporation Announces Launch of Emissions Testing Centre with Support from Natural Resources Canada


April 9, 2021

CALGARY, AB (April 9, 2021) Today, NGIF Capital Corporation announces that the Canadian Gas Association (CGA) has entered into an agreement with Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) to support the development of the NGIF Emissions Testing Centre (ETC) managed by NGIF Capital Corporation. The NGIF ETC will create a plug-and-play testing platform for both simulated emissions testing at the University of Calgary Energy Centre and live testing at the West Wolf Lake gas processing plant, located near Edson, Alberta and owned jointly by Tourmaline Oil Corp. (Tourmaline) and Perpetual Energy Inc. (Perpetual).

NRCan’s funding of $8.25 million for the NGIF ETC is provided by the Canadian Emissions Reduction Innovation Network (CERIN) initiative. The CERIN initiative is designed to accelerate the development of technologies that will facilitate the reduction of methane emissions in the oil and gas sector.

The approved funding includes the instrumentation for emissions reduction measurement and testing technologies at the Tourmaline-operated West Wolf Lake gas processing plant, of which Perpetual is also a 50% partner. The funding will also go towards a data portal and high-quality personnel (HQP) development through the University of Calgary Global Research Initiative in Sustainable Low Carbon Unconventional Resources. The testing and validation at the NGIF ETC focus on emission source areas at gas processing plants including fugitive leaks, emissions from flare systems, and storage losses from tanks.

“I am very excited about our NGIF Emissions Testing Centre. The creation of an instrumented cohesive testing platform based around the quantification of emissions and allowing for direct comparisons of startups on a single live gas production system is ground-breaking,” says John Adams, NGIF Capital Corporation President and CEO. “The use of this facility will increase data availability, verify clean technology performance, and improve understanding of the emissions management potential of the technologies being tested.”

NGIF is also working with the University of Calgary on the ETC. The University will develop a data portal platform for information-sharing amongst researchers and will provide two laboratory workspaces dedicated to simulated emissions testing by clean technology providers before they are deployed to the Tourmaline host site.

The NGIF Emissions Testing Centre will inform protocols and standards for the detection and mitigation of methane emissions that will become the benchmark for Canada’s gas industry and the world.


Quotes

“Building a low-emissions future means making investments like this. Creating jobs and advancing clean energy initiatives. This is how we get to net-zero by 2050.”

The Honourable Seamus O’Regan Jr., Canada’s Minister of Natural Resources


“Alberta and its energy industry have long been at the forefront of the effort to reduce emissions. The NGIF Emission Testing Centre will further advance the kinds of technology and solutions needed to move the natural gas sector towards a lower emission future, and contribute to the province’s efforts to reduce oil and gas methane emissions by 45 per cent from 2014 levels by 2025.”

Dale Nally, Alberta Associate Minister of Natural Gas and Electricity


“Canada already produces the net lowest emissions natural gas in the world; corroborative technology development such as the NGIF Emissions Testing Centre will allow the Canadian gas industry to continue to improve environmental performance further.”

Mike Rose, President, CEO and Chairman of Tourmaline Oil Corp


“The University of Calgary is proud to work with our partners in industry and government to advance clean technologies. As a leader in energy research and scholarship, our institution is dedicated to supporting sustainable development and energy transformation. Collaborative initiatives, such as the NGIF Emissions Testing Centre, support Canadian innovation and growth in cleantech.”

Dr. William Ghali, MD, Vice-President (Research), University of Calgary


“The Natural Gas Innovation Fund is about collaborating to unlock innovations that will make Canada’s already clean-burning natural gas resource even cleaner on a full cycle basis. The Emissions Testing Centre will be a valuable proving ground for new technologies and help pave the way for commercialization and widespread adoption on the road to minimizing upstream emissions.”

Sue Riddell Rose, President and CEO, Perpetual Energy Inc.


“The NGIF Emissions Testing Centre will provide an exciting opportunity to Canada’s natural gas industry to assess cleantech solutions and inform efforts around emissions management. The mandate of the Centre is well-aligned with the industry’s focus on innovation, the environment, and better data availability.

Timothy M. Egan, President and CEO, Canadian Gas Association


About the Canadian Gas Association
The Canadian Gas Association is the voice of Canada’s natural gas delivery industry. Its membership includes natural gas distribution and transmission companies, equipment manufacturers, and suppliers to the industry. Our utility members are active in eight provinces and one territory and meet 35 per cent of Canadians’ energy needs through a network of over 566,000 kilometers of underground infrastructure. This infrastructure can also be used to deliver renewable gases including renewable natural gas and hydrogen, in order to contribute to Canada’s greenhouse gas emission reductions. Today, over 7.2 million customer locations representing approximately two-thirds of Canadians, rely on natural gas for clean, affordable and reliable heating and power.

About NGIF Capital Corporation
NGIF Capital Corporation is a Canadian venture capital (VC) firm offering grant and equity financing for startups that deliver solutions to the environmental and other challenges facing the natural gas sector. NGIF Capital Corporation is unique in how it brings Canada’s energy industry leadership to every investment.  Like other VCs, it takes new companies and their ideas from concept to commercialization. However, unlike other VCs, NGIF Capital Corporation has strong connections to every part of the gas value chain, from production through to end-use, offering it a means to test, develop, and accelerate the commercial implementation of innovative gas technology wherever it fits in the sector. The model benefits consumers, investors, and Canadian society as a whole. NGIF Capital Corporation operates NGIF Industry Grants (the original Natural Gas Innovation Fund), the NGIF Emissions Testing Centre, and NGIF Cleantech Ventures.

About NGIF Emissions Testing Centre
The NGIF Emissions Testing Centre is a $35-million industry-led emissions testing platform for multiple startups to validate their solutions in a collaborative and live gas operations environment. NGIF Emissions Testing Centre includes the host site of Tourmaline Oil and Perpetual Energy at their West Wolf Lake Gas Process Plant, instrumented for live testing. It also includes University of Calgary Research Centre laboratories, instrumented for both simulation testing and a data hub to store benchmarking results. The NGIF Emissions Testing Centre will see emissions detection, quantification, and reductions through multiple tech startup validation, while also creating benchmarking data and a research talent pool for the natural gas industry. The NGIF Emissions Testing Centre is operated by NGIF Capital Corporation.

Associated Links:
Natural Gas Innovation Fund
Canadian Gas Association
NGIF LinkedIn
NGIF Twitter

Media Information:
Sarah Robinson
Manager, Communications
NGIF Capital Corporation
613-282-1126
s[email protected]
Fund Information:
John Adams
President and CEO
NGIF Capital Corporation
613-748-0057
[email protected]

Related Resources

At NGIF, we invest in companies who are leading in the development of clean technologies for energy and who have the potential to demonstrate significant and quantifiable environmental and economic returns.

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