Gas infusion technology company says it will locate in Sarnia-Lambton after $500k investment

A $500,000 investment by the Sustainable Chemistry Alliance (SCA) will help bring another global technology company to Sarnia-Lambton as part of the region's growing hybrid chemistry cluster.

Solutions4CO2 will locate its demonstration facility and global headquarters here with joint financial support that includes the SCA and investment firm Macquarie Private Wealth Inc., which acted as Agent for a private placement offering of special warrants in the amount of $1,516,000.

S4CO2 develops industrial-scale CO2 capture and use solutions using gas infusion technology. Uses of dissolved CO2 gas in solutions include rapid acceleration of algae growth for third-generation biofuels production, nutraceuticals, pharmaceuticals, animal/aqua feed, mineralization and separation into clean commercial CO2.

"We worked closely with the Sarnia Lambton Economic Partnership and our government and industry partners to attract S4CO2 to our world-class hybrid chemistry cluster," said Dr. Murray McLaughlin, CEO and President of the SCA. "This builds on the recent decision by BioAmber to locate is succinic acid plant here."

Doug Kemp-Welch, CEO of S4CO2, said the experience, expertise and networking capability available through the SCA was instrumental in his company's decision to locate its global headquarters and research and development operations in Sarnia.

"The combination of the SCA and the economic development office had a direct impact on our decision to choose Sarnia over many other locations in Canada for our demonstration facility. Given that Sarnia area companies produce some of Canada's CO2 emissions, it's also a natural site for deployment of our technology."

He added the SCA has helped to facilitate his company's connection with the major chemical companies in the region. S4CO2 "bolts its technology" to the technology of other companies, which are either a source of CO2 or a potential customer for its downstream products.

"We like to think of ourselves as in the waste gas to co-products business," says Kemp-Welch. "We're transforming waste gas streams into value added co-products."

S4CO2 is currently looking at a number of sites in Sarnia and hopes to finalize a location by the end of 2011. It is in the process of forming its senior management team.