Burnco, Lafarge Canada team with Carbon Upcycling on $11M ash project

Sources: Carbon Upcycling, Calgary; CP staff

Carbon dioxide utilization technology and supplementary cementitious material developer Carbon Upcycling has enlisted Alberta neighbors Burnco Rock Products and Lafarge Canada for testing a process to covert landfilled coal combustion residuals to concrete-grade fly ash. Beyond the CCR harvesting aspect, the process sequesters CO₂ gas. Of the project’s $11 million budget, Emissions Reduction Alberta is contributing $4.4 million—part of a recently announced $58 million outlay for Circular Economy Challenge projects.

Carbon Upcycling engineers catalytic reactors to prepare the particle surfaces of fly ash, silicates, aggregate fines or other raw feeds to bind with and sequester carbon dioxide. The company has demonstrated the technology’s potential for supplementary cementitious material output.

“Circularity in our economy will be integral to Alberta’s decarbonization efforts,” says Carbon Upcycling Business Development Partnerships Manager Ryan Bourns. “Circular Economy Challenge funding signals the government’s commitment to supporting innovative companies like Carbon Upcycling, as we collaborate with industry partners and look to achieve commercial-scale impact in the cement industry.”

Projects were selected through ERA’s competitive review process, he adds: A team of experts in science, engineering, business development, commercialization, financing, and greenhouse gas quantification conducted an independent, rigorous, transparent review. Funding recipients are required to produce public reports detailing project outcomes and achievements; lessons learned, including greenhouse gas reduction strategies; job creation potential; plus, other environmental, economic, and social benefits.

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