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Lockheed Martin invests in Edmonton renewable fuel project

Forge Hydrocarbons Corporation of Edmonton, Alberta, has received a $5.3 million investment from Lockheed Martin under the Industrial and Technological Benefits (ITB) Policy. Lockheed Martin’s investment is in direct support of these ITB obligations associated with Canada’s purchase of 17 CC-130J Super Hercules aircraft, which were delivered to the Royal Canadian Air Force in 2010. Lockheed Martin also delivers In-Service Support for the CC-130J fleet.


December 4, 2018  By Wings Staff


This investment enables Forge to further development of its Lipid-to-Hydrocarbon (LTH) technology and to construct what it describes as a first-of-kind, commercial plant with a production capacity target of approximately 19 million liters per year (ML/y).

“Lockheed Martin’s investment not only adds to the validation received to date for the LTH technology, but also provides a necessary monetary boost to Forge’s commercialization pathway,” said Tim Haig, CEO of Forge. The company has begun the final engineering design and site preparation for the first LTH plant to be built in Sombra, Ontario.

Forge’s LTH proprietary production technology, according to the company, produces drop-in, renewable fuels that are indistinguishable from petroleum-based fuels and that are directly compatible with the current petroleum-based fuel infrastructure.

Forge describes renewable fuels are an extremely important element in any country’s strategy to reduce its carbon footprint and to adhere with the Clean Fuel Standard to reduce Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions by 30 megatons by the year 2030. Forge states its LTH technology reduces greenhouse gas emissions by more than 70 per cent compared to petroleum-based fuels.

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The LTH process, explains Forge, emerged from decades of high temperature chemistry research and was invented by Dr. David Bressler, a Professor in the Faculty of Agricultural, Life & Environmental Sciences at the University of Alberta in Edmonton.

Early research and the construction of the first pilot facility was supported through grants from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, the Province of Alberta, MITACS and Alberta Innovates as well as large investments by the Alberta Livestock and Meat Agency and Western Economic Diversification Canada. The SOMBRA LTH Facility is being supported by a $4.2 million contribution by Sustainable Development Technology Canada.
 
This project funding will also contribute to the continuation of research and development at the University of Alberta and Forge’s pilot facility in Edmonton, Alberta, to increase the efficiency of the technology and to broaden the scope of the application to a wider range of feed stocks that can be transformed into a broader range of renewable fuels.


“We are impressed with Forge and its contributions to providing this advanced, renewable fuel technology to the global community,” said Charles Bouchard, chief executive of Lockheed Martin Canada.  “The success of this investment is an example of how large international aerospace companies such as Lockheed Martin can collaborate with smaller businesses in Canada to create opportunities for lasting growth in the Canadian economy.”

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