BHP Billiton and SaskPower Establish Carbon Capture and Storage Knowledge Centre

BHP Billiton and Saskatchewan-based electricity provider SaskPower have signed an agreement to establish the BHP Billiton SaskPower Carbon Capture Knowledge Centre to help advance Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) as a means of managing greenhouse gas emissions.

BHP Billiton will contribute C$4 million per year for five years to fund the Knowledge Centre, which will operate as a Not-For-Profit Canadian Corporation in Regina, Saskatchewan.

BHP Billiton Chief Commercial Officer, Dean Dalla Valle, said accelerating the development and deployment of low-emissions technologies was vital in addressing the challenges posed by climate change.

“By enhancing global access to the data, information and lessons learned from SaskPower’s unique Boundary Dam facility – the first power project to successfully integrate CCS – we aim to stimulate broader deployment of the technology,” Mr Dalla Valle said.

Boundary DAM is the world’s first commercial scale carbon capture and storage process on a coal fired power plant.

SaskPower President and CEO Mike Marsh said he was pleased to be able to partner with BHP Billiton through the Knowledge Centre.

“Talks between our two companies began at a United Nations climate change conference in Peru in late 2014. Just over one year later, we are celebrating a ground-breaking Knowledge Centre that will offer the world a vehicle to advance the technology and commercial viability of CCS,” Mr Marsh said.

In welcoming the agreement Premier of Saskatchewan Brad Wall said Saskatchewan continued to be a pioneer in carbon capture and storage technology.

“SaskPower’s partnership with BHP Billiton will allow us to share the benefits of CCS with the world while continuing to reduce carbon emissions here at home,” Premier Wall said.

Under the agreement, BHP Billiton and SaskPower will each appoint two directors to the Board of the Knowledge Centre and another three independent directors will be appointed collectively.

It is intended that the Knowledge Centre will help inform a range of interested parties, including governments, universities, industry and research organizations, on practical considerations in the development and use of CCS.  It will be staffed by people with appropriate knowledge of CCS and Boundary Dam, either seconded from SaskPower or employed directly by the Knowledge Centre.

Credits: BHP Billiton