Environment committee  Yes, absolutely.

Environment committee  The United States regulates cellulosic ethanol production. Refiners must include a specific percentage of next-gen biofuel in their mix, whereas Canada does not have a position on this type of biofuel. That commitment stimulates investment even further. The United States also gives tax incentives.

Environment committee  Enerkem is a private company and is not publicly traded. We are supported by private investors. Some of those investors are Quebec investors, for example Cycle Capital Management, a clean technology fund. We also have investors from the Cleantech Group fund, in New York.

Environment committee  These are investments in the company and in job creation. Approximately six years ago Enerkem had 25 employees and there are now 170.

Environment committee  You are probably referring to an article written by the reporter Hélène Baril, and unfortunately this was used in a smear campaign against Enerkem by 3 of the 189 suppliers with deal with. These suppliers would like to be paid extra. These construction businesses use dishonest practices.

Environment committee  We are in discussions with several groups. Many municipalities that have optimized recycling and composting are looking at the next step. Right now the options they have are either landfilling or incineration. We're an alternative to these two options, and we're complementary to all these upstream activities by municipalities.

Environment committee  On the thermochemical side, this is a process that breaks down the solid material into a synthesis gas that is composed of carbon monoxide and hydrogen. The process then uses catalysts to convert that syngas into a liquid. In our process, we first convert this syngas into methanol.

Environment committee  No, maybe it's just my natural pace. Is it too quick?

Environment committee  Would you like me to start again, or...?

Environment committee  Should I go back?

Environment committee  Last week, we officially inaugurated our first full-scale facility in Edmonton. This announcement was shared by Enerkem's CEO, Mr. Vincent Chornet, Mayor Don Iveson from the City of Edmonton, and the Honourable Robin Campbell, Alberta Minister of Environment and Sustainable Resource Development, as well as Diana McQueen, Alberta Minister of Energy.

Environment committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. Good afternoon. Enerkem is a private Quebec company that produces biofuels and renewable chemical products using residual materials such as non-recyclable and non-compostable waste. Using its exclusive technology, Enerkem converts residual material headed to the landfill into added-value products such as biomethanol and ethanol.

Natural Resources committee  Currently, if we look at the second generation, there are really two types of innovation: you have biological processes using enzymes and you have the thermochemical pathway. What we see now is that there is a portfolio of maybe ten companies as a maximum that are ready to commercialize and that are developing—have concrete or fill in the ground and are building plants and developing commercial facilities.

Natural Resources committee  I'm not the expert on finance, but I know that we looked at it—not necessarily for the first plant, but this is a tool that would be useful for future facilities. For the first one it is not necessarily the best tool, but there are some fiscal incentives that could be looked at to provide a level playing field on the fiscal side.

Natural Resources committee  In our case, regulation drives demand because the renewable fuel standard actually gives us access to a market by creating a demand. So the 5% ethanol blend is a regulation that is not for us, but it provides a market for us. There is an opportunity to drive innovation by considering increasing the RFS.