The company that got the renewable diesel plant off the ground in Regina is trying to build a sustainable aviation fuel plant in Manitoba.
Douglas Cole, who founded True North Renewable Fuels, is now leading a company called Azure Sustainable Fuels.
On June 20, the Manitoba and federal governments announced $2.9 million in funding for Azure to support an engineering design study.
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The study is for a sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) plant near Portage la Prairie, Man.
It’s early days, but the proposed plant could cost $1.9 billion to construct and produce one billion litres of SAF annually.
“The establishment of a sustainable aviation fuel facility would bring an exciting development for Portage la Prairie and a significant gain for the economic vibrancy of this region,” said Manitoba agriculture minister Derek Johnson.
“I thank and congratulate Azure for this project, which is poised to add value to Manitoba crops and benefit farmers as well as this area of our province.”
SAF is a “drop-in” fuel, which performs similarly to conventional aviation fuel.
“It is a synthetic kerosene aviation jet fuel derived from a range of biomass such as vegetable oils and animal fats, forest or agricultural residues and industrial waste gasses,” says Advanced Biofuels Canada, a lobby group.
The feedstock for the proposed SAF refinery in Portage la Prairie will likely be canola and soybean oil.
Cole was leading a similar project in Regina when he was with True North Renewable Fuels. The Calgary company planned to build a renewable diesel plant, but Federated Co-op purchased True North’s assets and took over the project in the spring of 2021.
Pam Skotnitsky, vice-president of strategy with FCL, told The Western Producer that the co-op was already mulling over the idea of building a renewable diesel refinery.
The acquisition of True North helped fast-track the project.
“We have the manufacturing expertise, the facilities, the distribution network, the retail sites and an organization that is committed to communities and loyal customers,” she said.
In January 2022, Federated announced it was going ahead with the project.
FCL and AGT Foods committed to build a renewable diesel plant and a canola crushing facility in Regina, at a cost of $2 billion.
Cole, who worked in the oil and gas industry for decades before founding True North in 2017, said producing sustainable aviation fuel in Manitoba will help create a “Made in Canada” solution to carbon emissions.
“This support ($2.9 million) not only accelerates economic growth within the province, but also successfully integrates Canadian agriculture with energy markets to provide a sustainable decarbonization solution.”
Contact robert.arnason@producer.com
