Ottawa startup scaling up carbon-capture technology
Hyperion Global Energy Corp., based at Bayview Yards, aims to commercialize its system that turns cement plant emissions into a product worth billions.
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An Ottawa startup is working to turn carbon emissions from cement manufacturing into a valuable product—and hopes to make the technology commercially viable within 18 months.
Hyperion Global Energy Corp., based at Bayview Yards, has developed a patented system called Tandem Carbon Recycling that captures flue gas from cement plants and converts it into calcium carbonate, a mineral used in antacids, toothpaste, paint, and cement.
The company has been testing the technology at Amrize's cement plant in Bath, west of Kingston. Amrize, spun off into an independent company last year by Switzerland's Holcim Group, is now Hyperion's development partner.
Co-founder and CEO Heather Ward says the company is "basically taking the world's biggest liability, which is carbon dioxide, and turning it into an asset." She pegs the global market for low-carbon materials derived from CO2 at more than $44 billion.
The system, stored in 40-foot shipping containers installed on-site, currently captures about 1,000 tonnes of carbon annually. Hyperion plans to increase that tenfold over the next 12 to 18 months, aiming to produce more than 5,000 tonnes of calcium carbonate. At full capacity, the system is designed to capture 30,000 tonnes of CO2 and produce 60,000 tonnes of calcium carbonate per year.
Unlike many carbon-capture startups that rely on carbon credits, Hyperion's model creates a product with massive market potential. Traditional calcium carbonate production is "very resource-intensive," requiring mining or quarrying of rock like marble. Hyperion's system is more energy-efficient and scalable globally.