NEXTERRA SYSTEMS CORP.
COMBINED HEAT & POWER GASIFIER DEMONSTRATION
Project Details
Total Cost
Phase 1: $5.8 Million
Phase 2: $26.35 Million
BCBN Investment
Phase 1: $1.5 Million Grant
Phase 2: $1.5 Million Grant
Status
Completed
Location
Kamloops and Vancouver, British Columbia
Clean, innovative biomass gasification
Project 1 – Gasifier Clean Syngas Research
Project 2 – Bioenergy Research and Development Facility at UBC
The University of British Columbia (UBC) is using an innovative gasification system developed by Nexterra Systems Corp. (Nexterra) to convert clean wood waste into low-cost renewable heat.
BC Bioenergy Network (BCBN) initially contributed $1.5 Million to leverage the development of Nexterra’s pilot system. Built in Kamloops in 2010, the system removes tar and particulate from woody biomass to produce ultra-clean synthetic gases. These gases can be funneled through a reciprocating engine to create an energy-efficient heat and power system.
BCBN subsequently contributed $1.5 Million to build a full-scale demonstration project at UBC, eight times larger than the pilot project.
The Nexterra system installed at the UBC Bioenergy Research and Demonstration Facility is now helping UBC reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. An informative summary can be found here: “Green Technology Risks and Benefits: Bioenergy Research and Demonstration Facility, UBC”.
The system developed by Nexterra was installed at UBC and now displaces or reduces:
- 12% of the campus’ natural gas consumption;
- 4% of its peak electrical consumption; and.
- 4,500 tonnes of Carbon Dioxide Equivalent (“CO2e”) per year (the same as removing 1,100 cars from the road).
In jurisdictions that would otherwise generate electricity from fossil fuels, the equivalent CO2 reductions from this type of system will be double those achieved in Vancouver’s low-carbon hydroelectricity environment. Results on emissions testing from Nexterra’s six systems currently in operation in the US and Canada are also showing they can match or beat air emissions from clean-burning natural gas systems.
Nexterra is now further developing the technology for utilizing ultra-clean synthetic gases in gas pipeline systems or production of liquid transportation fuels.
Nexterra has since built two biomass power generating facilities in the U.K., Northamptonshire and Birmingham.
