Quebec Invests In Biofuels

The Quebec government will invest $27 million into full-scale commercial cellulosic ethanol plant. The facility will be built and operated by a joint-venture partnership of Enerkem, a waste-to-biofuels and chemical company, and Canadian alcohol producer GreenField Ethanol.

The plant will be built in Varennes and will use Enerkem’s proprietary technology to convert non-recyclable municipal solid waste into biofuels. The new facility will be Enerkem’s third full-scale commercial project, including one under construction in Edmonton and another under development in Mississippi.

"By producing liquid transportation fuel from non-recyclable waste, this facility opens the door to the emergence of a new energy sector and will allow for local sustainable management of our waste materials," said Vincent Chornet, President and CEO of Enerkem. "Located on the site of Ethanol GreenField’s current plant, this project will represent one of the first integrations between an existing, first-generation ethanol plant and a new cellulosic ethanol plant."

The non-recyclable waste will come from institutional, commercial, and industrial sectors, and from construction and demolition debris. The plant’s annual anticipated production capacity is approximately thirty-eight million liters.

The $27 million contribution includes $18 million in financial assistance from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Wildlife, and a $9 million loan from Investissement Québec.

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