The Thermochemical Pathway: A Sustainable and Competitive Waste Diversion Solution

2015 Gasification Technology Conference - October 2015
David McConnell
Vice President Business Development North America
The Thermochemical Pathway:

A Sustainable and Competitive Waste
Diversion Solution
The Case of Enerkem and the City of Edmonton
Enerkem at a glance
Biofuels and renewable chemicals from garbage
Proprietary clean technology developed in-house
Private company founded in 2000; 200 employees
First full-scale commercial biorefinery beginning operations in Edmonton
2 facilities in Qubec (pilot and demonstration)
Developing similar facilities in North America and abroad
Several MOUs in China and EU
Were building the bioeconomy. | Enerkem, 2015

Key market drivers for waste as feedstock
Increased scarcity of urban landfill airspace
and societal desire for waste diversion
Improving the environment for future generations
Circular economy or cradle-to-cradle approach
Low cost unconventional feedstocks
Renewable fuels mandates around the world
Consumer pull for renewable and bio-based products
Focus on carbon footprint and GHG emissions reduction

Cost-competitive and sustainable solution
Complementary to recycling, composting and other conversion technologies
Ethanol
38-152mm LPY
Methanol
50-200mm LPY
Waste Supplier(s): Enerkem:
Supplies between Technology provider and joint venture partner in
100,000 to 400,000 $100 - $225 M project
tons of MSW per year Converts RDF into biofuels and renewable chemicals
(as available) up to 4x scale of Edmonton
Long-term contract Works with the waste partners to optimize MSW
Pays tipping fee sorting into commodities and for site selection
attractive compared to Manages business risks incl. sale of final product
status quo
Creates high-quality jobs
Suggests sites
Generates $50 M/year in net economic benefits in the region
(for 1 X standard Enerkem system of 100,000 tons / year)

Unique partnership with the City of Edmonton
Leader in waste management practices
Edmonton Waste Management Centre
North Americas largest collection of modern,
sustainable waste processing and research facilities
233-hectare site
Enerkem selected as part of a thorough selection process involving over
100 technology providers

Bringing the model to reality
Rigorous path to commercialization
MODULAR COMMERCIAL BIOREFINERIES

WESTBURY FACILITY
UNIVERSITY OF
SHERBROOKE SHERBROOKE
PILOT
Laboratory Pilot
Syngas Methanol Ethanol Full-scale commercial
Demo Demo Demo production

Worlds first commercial
MSW-to-biofuels and
chemicals facility
ENERKEM ALBERTA BIOFUELS
Capacity: 38 million litres per year

(i.e. 1 X standard Enerkem system)
Feedstock: 25-year agreement with City of Edmonton
for 100,000 dry tonnes of MSW per year
Products: Biomethanol, cellulosic ethanol
An efficient carbon-recycling process
100k MT
of RDF
43k MT per year

of methanol
10mm gpy of
ethanol

Keys to success
Quality partnership with the City of Edmonton
Detailed Safety Training
Prudent commissioning and start up as reflected in the Enerkem scale-up
approach
Followed a rigorous path to commercialization
First step - scaling up our technology from pilot to industrial
demonstration
Second step - scaling our industrial demonstration to our
commercialization facility
Third step detailed commissioning of the commercial facility
Fourth step individual unit start ups and testing
Final step initiation of the complete operation from the feed system
to the production of methanol
Were building the bioeconomy. | Enerkem, 2015 9

Part of an integrated waste management system
Recycled 20%
Composted 40%
Biofuels 30%
Landfill 10%

Waste diversion = 90%

VANERCO
First advanced biofuels facility in Canada to be co-located
with a conventional biofuels production facility
Capacity: 38 million litres
Feedstock: Urban waste (industrial, commercial, institutional, construction, etc.)
Status: Pre-construction work started
Benefits of Enerkems advanced biorefineries
Complementary to recycling, composting and other conversion
technologies
Enerkem successfully demonstrated reliable methanol production at its
commercial facility in Edmonton, being the first full size commercial plant
to transform mixed municipal waste into liquid fuels
Helps transition to a greener and circular economy
Diversifies energy and increases domestic energy production

Benefits of Enerkems advanced biorefineries
Solves a waste problem and avoids methane emissions from landfilling
Is a socially-accepted solution for non-recyclable/non-compostable
garbage
Expands ethanol feedstock opportunities beyond corn/wheat/sugar cane
Fuel produced close to point of consumption/feedstock
Reduces GHG emissions by > 60% when compared to gasoline

Thank you
For more information:
David McConnell
VP Business Development North America
dmcconnell@enerkem.com
www.enerkem.com

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2015 Gasification Technology Conference - October 2015

The Thermochemical Pathway:

Were building the bioeconomy. | Enerkem, 2015

Were building the bioeconomy. | Enerkem, 2015

Were building the bioeconomy. | Enerkem, 2015

Were building the bioeconomy. | Enerkem, 2015

MODULAR COMMERCIAL BIOREFINERIES

Were building the bioeconomy. | Enerkem, 2015

ENERKEM ALBERTA BIOFUELS

Capacity: 38 million litres per year

43k MT per year

Were building the bioeconomy. | Enerkem, 2015

Were building the bioeconomy. | Enerkem, 2015 9

Were building the bioeconomy. | Enerkem, 2015

Were building the bioeconomy. | Enerkem, 2015 13

Were building the bioeconomy. | Enerkem, 2015 14

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