A Quebec company, pioneer in CO capture and sequestration2has just received a significant “vote of confidence” from an American giant, which is buying 1,050 tonnes of carbon credits from it.
Exterra Solutions Carbone, whose facilities are located in Val-des-Sources, in the Eastern Townships, announced Wednesday that it had concluded a “pre-purchase” with Frontier, a group of companies seeking to offset 1 billion tonnes of greenhouse gases (GHG) by 2030.
The delivery, which will take place from 2025 to 2028, will bring in US$500,000 (about CAD$680,000) to Exterra, or US$476 (CAD$647) per tonne of CO2But it is above all the “validation” granted by Frontier which delights Olivier Dufresne, the CEO and co-founder of the young company.
“Frontier is one of the groups in this sector whose due diligence procedure [quant à la qualité des technologies de stockage] is the most rigorous in the world. It opens up new avenues for us, particularly in terms of investments,” he said in an interview.
With its pilot facilities in Val-des-Sources (formerly Asbestos), Exterra is able to transform mining waste into magnesium oxide. This mineral can then be used in different ways to react with CO2 and sequester him.
Controversial industry
The booming carbon capture and sequestration industry is controversial: its detractors argue that it is a distraction slowing down the colossal project of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
That doesn’t stop Frontier — founded by Stripe, Alphabet, Shopify, Meta and McKinsey Sustainability — from betting big on dozens of companies it sees as promising. On Wednesday, it announced deals with nine partners, including Exterra.
The 1050 tons of CO2 promised by Exterra (equivalent to the annual emissions of 300 gasoline cars) will be sequestered with the help of Planetary Technologies, a Nova Scotia-based company that specializes in marine carbon sequestration.
So, the magnesium oxide powder produced in Val-des-Sources will be trucked to Halifax, where Planetary will dissolve it in the ocean. This should increase the alkalinity of the water, which promotes the absorption of CO2 atmospheric and its sequestration in seawater.
Questions remain about the effectiveness of this process and its safety for ecosystems. Since the fall of 2023, Planetary and Dalhousie University have been running a pilot project in Halifax Harbour to get a better idea. So far, the results have been very positive, says Dufresne.
The company manager adds that the magnesium oxide produced by Exterra is particularly pure and reactive. This ensures the absence of contaminants and optimal dissolution in seawater.
Exterra plans to begin deliveries for the contract with Frontier during the first half of 2025. Among its investors, the company counts Investissement Québec, which invested $1.2 million in the venture.