A key player in the transition to a carbon-neutral economy, Polytechnique Montréal supports several promising applied research projects. Starting with those headed by professor and researcher Louis Fradette in the fields of green chemistry and sustainable engineering.
To face the climate crisis, innovative and transformative technological solutions must be developed urgently. This is why Polytechnique Montréal has chosen to propel energy decarbonization projects in collaboration with industrial and agricultural partners open to technological transfers.
The university specializing in engineering attracts renowned professor-researchers, such as Louis Fradette, and it provides them with its research infrastructures, which are among the most prestigious in the country. Each year, these scientists make major breakthroughs that improve our quality of life, today and for years to come.
Aim for carbon neutrality“I am a teacher with a somewhat atypical profile,” emphasizes Louis Fradette. After completing my engineering training in chemical engineering, I worked for ten years in a refinery before I realized that I was interested in something other than production. I continued my studies and a few years later became a researcher and full professor in the chemical engineering department at Polytechnique Montreal. My goal: meet the sustainable development challenges facing the energy industry in Quebec. “
Mission accomplished. Polytechnique Montréal hosted the project to develop technological solutions for the capture and recovery of carbon dioxide, Valorisation Carbone Québec, set up by Louis Fradette with the Government of Quebec and two major oil companies. In December 2020, Polytechnique Montréal takes its commitment a step further by creating the Institute for Sustainable Engineering and the Carbon Neutral Economy, a research unit whose activities are devoted to solving environmental and social challenges related to the challenges of sustainable economic development.
Make way for green chemistry
Louis Fradette is currently devoted to green chemistry, or renewable chemistry. “It is about the transformation of matter with chemical reactions to no longer create waste, rejections or aggressions in the very broad sense for the planet,” he explains. Currently, for every 100 kg of material that is extracted from the earth, the equivalent of 20% is transformed into products, while 80% is discarded. Green chemistry tackles this 80% of waste by developing processes that ensure that the material can be recycled, recovered or reused. I work with companies that promote green chemistry projects to use unconventional raw material in the production of carbon neutral fuels that will not add GHGs to the atmosphere. In fact, I like to say that I work with second hand carbon! “
These innovations allow Quebec to achieve its GHG reduction objectives by manufacturing fuels that are not of fossil origin. “By installing CO2 capture units capable of capturing 10 tonnes of greenhouse gases per day in certain factories in Quebec – without the production of toxic waste – by 2030 we could reduce GHG emissions by nearly 2 million tons annually. All this while converting emissions into fuels or molecules that are useful for the Quebec economy. “
Agriculture in the crosshairsThe agricultural sector, which uses particularly polluting fertilizers found not only in our food, but also in water resources, also benefits from a sustainable approach. In collaboration with the agricultural community, Polytechnique Montréal is developing hydrogen production technologies allowing the development of fertilizer molecules combining environmental sustainability and cost reduction. “We plan to demonstrate the effectiveness of these technologies developed in Quebec in 2022 and 2023. Subsequently, they can be implemented and contribute concretely to the reduction of GHGs in our own backyard. “
Louis Fradette concludes by specifying that Quebec is currently benefiting from a veritable bubbling of innovation which is manifested in the research results. “For twenty years, I have been traveling the planet and I have noticed that Quebec has nothing to envy anyone. With research and knowledge transfer incubators like Polytechnique Montréal, we have a bright future ahead of us. “
Respectful of the principles of sustainable development and attentive to the needs of society, Polytechnique Montréal, in accordance with its values, trains engineers, as well as scientists of the highest level to meet the challenges of a changing world. change and make them key players in change. Polytechnique Montréal carries out research responding to major social issues and influences its environment on an intellectual, economic and social level.
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