InnoTech Alberta has entered into a new licensing agreement with Ethox Energy, a Calgary-based startup company, to address a long-standing barrier to dry methane reforming (DMR) adoption.
DMR is a process that converts methane and carbon dioxide into an industrial gas mixture called syngas that is used to produce a variety of other chemical products. While the process was originally developed nearly 100 years ago, challenges stemming from DMR catalysts have created barriers to adoption.
Leading with Chemistry
While the chemistry is relatively straightforward, reliable DMR operation has proven more difficult. Conventional nickel-based catalysts can be vulnerable to coking and sintering—two forms of degradation that reduce performance and can require shutdowns or catalyst replacement.
InnoTech Alberta developed a durable catalyst that addresses this barrier by preventing coking and allowing for long, reliable operation. Overcoming catalyst deactivation helps strengthen the case for the practical use of DMR and could improve confidence in the technology’s commercial potential.
“Great research creates real impact when it moves beyond the laboratory and into industrial applications,” says Dr. Maryam Omidvar, CEO and Co-Founder of Ethox Energy. “At Ethox Energy, our focus is on advancing this promising DMR catalyst technology through validation, scale-up, and ultimately commercial deployment. We see significant potential to transform natural gas and captured CO₂ into valuable building blocks for fuels and chemicals, including dimethyl ether, one of our key commercialization priorities.”
Reacting to Reactions
InnoTech Alberta is supporting the company as it works to scale up the process and mitigate risk in preparation for a potential pilot demonstration at a synthetic fuel producer’s site in Alberta.
This work comes at a time when interest in carbon utilization continues to grow. Although DMR alone will not decarbonize industry, advances in catalyst technology combined with declining costs for clean electricity are creating new opportunities to turn captured CO₂ into useful products.
“Bringing innovations like this to market takes more than technology alone,” says Dr. Omidvar. “It takes a strong innovation community, collaboration between researchers and industry, and the continued support of organizations like InnoTech Alberta. We’re proud to be part of Alberta’s innovation ecosystem and excited to build on InnoTech Alberta’s achievements to bring this Canadian technology closer to commercial reality.”