Markham, Ontario: Markham District Energy (MDE) joined Pond Technologies in a sod-turning ceremony October 10 as Pond began work on its carbon sequestration facility adjacent to MDE’s Warden Energy Centre in the City of Markham.
Pond CEO Steven Martin, centre, explains the company’s technology to visitors.
Pond’s facility will transform CO2 emissions captured from MDE’s combined heat and power facility to grow algae-based nutraceutical products utilizing its proprietary bioreactor technology.
“We are very pleased to be home to Pond’s first commercial-scale food-grade algae production facility,” said MDE president & CEO, Bruce Ander. “District energy utilities around the world are advancing a variety of low-carbon production technologies. Pond’s is certainly one of the more interesting and innovative solutions to have been presented to our company.”
The project is expected to be under construction in the next few months and operational in 2019.
Some of Pond Technologies’ products
“As a company owned by the City of Markham, MDE is very supportive of the City’s goal to achieve Net Zero emissions by the year 2050,” said Jack Heath, MDE Board Chair and City Deputy Mayor. “The Pond process, in addition to producing valuable products, such as astaxanthin or spirulina, will help us along the path to a low carbon City. We are very excited to part of this Canadian innovation.”
See also “Pilot system converts cement-making CO2 into algae feedstock,” IPPSO FACTO, December 2016.