The Canadian federal government has made a CA$950k grant to Halifax-based Sustane Technologies. The clean tech firm carries out municipal solid-waste diversion and repurposing in its plant in Chester, Nova Scotia. In an interaction with Peter Vinall, Co-founder, President and CEO of Sustane Technologies, The Tech Factor found out more details.
Halifax-based Sustane Technologies, a clean tech firm focused on waste management, has secured a CA$950k grant from Canada’s federal government. The company focuses on municipal solid-waste diversion and repurposing through its 40,000 square foot plant located in Chester, Nova Scotia. The company claims that its innovative & patented technology can recover and reuse up to 90% of curb-side garbage. The company also produces synthetic naphtha fuel and fertilizer by recycling this waste. Peter Vinall, President and CEO of Sustane Technologies, told The Tech Factor that this garbage, a lot of which is plastics, would otherwise typically go to the landfills.
Sustane Technologies collects household waste and then uses a patented technology to remove metallic and other non-organic materials from it. Its plant also converts the garbage into synthetic naphtha fuel and diesel, as well as into its GroBoost Fertilizer. GroBoost Fertilizer, a low-carbon organic alternative to traditional fertilizers, has been certified by Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) last year.
Overall, Sustane Technologies cuts carbon-dioxide emissions by two to three tonnes per tonne of garbage processed, as per the company. Vinall added that each year, its processing facility can recycle 70,000 tonnes through municipal solid-waste diversion & repurposing. In fact, this equates to its factory eliminating 216,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions annually. This is roughly same as removing 50,000 automobiles off the road and is almost 10% of Chester’s total carbon footprint, the company said.
Sustane Technologies developing synthetic naphtha fuel
With this government grant, Sustane Technologies will create, test, and certify a synthetic naphtha fuel (gasoline) made from end-of-life and single-use plastics. It will market and export its non-combustible recycled fuel to petrochemical businesses. As a result, they can potentially utilize this fuel instead of fossil fuels to make new plastics. Overall, this circular supply chain converts waste into a marketable commodity, reducing carbon emissions and keeping it out of landfills.
The Canadian company’s synthetic naphtha fuel is made from waste plastics and will replace naphtha obtained from fossil fuels in the petrochemical process. It can produce up to 1,000 litres of the product out of one tonne of plastic that would otherwise be useless, non-recyclable, and headed to landfills.
The ACOA’s Regional Economic Growth through Innovation program is the source of the funding. Honourable Lawrence MacAulay, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, made the grant announcement. It was made on behalf of the Honourable Gudie Hutchings, Minister of Rural Economic Development and Minister responsible for ACOA.
“Reducing plastic use is a win-win; it keeps it out of our oceans and waterways, and cuts down on the waste sent to the garbage dump. Atlantic Canadians are committed to sustainability, and companies like Sustane Technologies are pioneering this for the next generation.”
Honourable Gudie Hutchings, Minister of Rural Economic Development and Minister responsible for ACOA
Peter Vinall (President & CEO, Sustane Technologies) mentioned that the company was at a key moment in its growth, having made important innovations, including producing feedstock for circular plastic production. Further, he added that the grant would help the company make additional investments on product development and global partnerships.
Company working with municipalities and plastics manufacturers
Vinall founded Sustane Technologies along with Robert Richardson, President of Freehold Commercial Realty. Richardson is also the Executive Vice President and Foundering Director of Killam Apartment REIT. Vinall shared with The Tech Factor that the company currently has about 20 employees.
Sustane Technologies is also working with other town municipalities to replace land filling with its recycling operations. In April this year, the company announced a partnership project with the County of Wetaskiwin, Alberta. The project is a first end to end circular municipal solid-waste diversion solution of its kind in the province, and can generate 30-35 local jobs.
Prior to that, in January, the company had announced a partnership agreement to identify opportunities with Washington State in the US. The LOI initiated a procedure to identify potential locations for a municipal solid-waste diversion & transformation facility, overseen by the Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR). Together with 2.6 million acres of state-owned aquatic lands, DNR oversees 2.1 million acres of public lands in Washington.
In addition, the company is collaborating with international plastics manufacturers to use its synthetic fuels as fossil fuel substitutes. In November last year, it announced Payless Fuels as its first customer for its synthetic fuel derived from waste plastics. Sustane Technologies was planning to supply Payless Fuels with up to 30,000 synthetic heating oil litres per week. As a result, Payless’ customers could potentially reduce their carbon intensity by almost half.
