Suncor has completed an investment of Can$50 million in Canadian cleantech company Enerkem, which it said makes the energy group a “significant, strategic shareholder.”

Established in 2000, Enerkem has developed technology to convert waste biomass into cellulosic ethanol, methanol and other renewable chemicals. Suncor first took a stake in the company in April 2019 as part of a Can$76.3 million financing, alongside existing shareholders.

The confidence Suncor is showing in Enerkem through this additional investment sends a “clear signal” that it strongly supports and believes in the technology and also confirms the company’s leadership in the advanced biofuels market, said Dominique Boies, Enerkem CEO and chief financial officer.

 “We are pleased to partner with a leading Canadian player in the energy industry and to benefit not only from their financial support, but also from their profound operational, technical, and engineering expertise,” Boies added.

Suncor will also provide technical resources to support the operations of the Enerkem Alberta Biofuels (EAB) plant in Edmonton, Alberta. EAB is the first commercial-scale plant to turn non-recyclable, non-compostable mixed municipal solid waste into cellulosic ethanol. Enerkem is also planning to build another such facility in Varennes, Quebec, Canada, with construction set to start in late 2019.

The Montreal biofuels company is also part of a consortium building Europe’s first advanced waste-to-chemicals (W2C) facility in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. The project, which also counts Shell Chemicals, Air Liquide, Nouryon and the Port of Rotterdam as partners, will convert up to 360,000 t of waste into 220,000 t of biomethanol.

The consortium anticipates taking a final investment decision in 2019.