CALGARY – The federal government and two private companies are planning to build a $19-million plant that will use algae to convert greenhouse gas emissions from an oilsands site into useful products such as biofuels.
The National Research Council says its will contribute $9.5 million toward the joint project with energy giant Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. (TSX:CNQ) and Pond Biofuels.
The plant will be built at Canadian Natural’s Primrose South oilsands site near Bonnyville, Alta.
The goal of the project is to test the technology on a large scale.
Earlier this week, Ottawa announced that the National Research Council would be more focused on technology that benefits business.
Gary Goodyear, minister of state for science and technology, says this is the first concrete example of the council’s new role.