In November 2024, SaskPower announced the 10th anniversary of its CCS facility at Boundary Dam in Estevan, Saskatchewan. At that time, the plant had captured some 6.5 million tonnes of CO₂, making it “the cleanest-burning coal power unit on Earth.”
4 Now achieving record capture rates, SaskPower reports it has saved customers over CDN$160 million in carbon taxes the past five years alone.
The CO₂ captured at the Boundary Dam Power Station plant serves a dual purpose. Part of it is utilized to support enhanced oil recovery (EOR) at local oil fields, thereby contributing to circular practices. The remaining CO₂, which is not used for EOR, is permanently sequestered, ensuring it does not re-enter the atmosphere. Sulzer's advanced carbon capture technologies are at the heart of this process, enabling efficient and large-scale CO₂ capture and storage. By integrating our cutting-edge separation and mixing solutions, we help industries achieve significant reductions in GHG and better align with global sustainability goals.
In 2024, Sulzer customized a solution to support the
decarbonization of a leading chemical manufacturer in Japan. Here again, Sulzer’s specialized mass transfer technologies, the hardware that facilitates an energy-efficient CO₂ absorption and regeneration process, are at the core of a large-scale carbon capture plant. Our column internals and packing support the entire commercial-scale carbon capture process and are designed to ensure maximum carbon capture performance while reducing the plant’s capital and operational expenses.
Improving energy efficiency
Energy decarbonization through electrification is another innovative technology that is helping companies meet their CO₂ reduction targets. Sulzer launched a new electrified distillation solution in 2024, VoltaSplit, that significantly enhances energy efficiency while enabling the reduction of direct CO₂ emissions. Unlike traditional distillation systems that rely on steam boilers powered by fossil fuels, VoltaSplit uses electricity as its sole power source. This shift reduces GHG while allowing industries to transition to renewable energy sources without major infrastructure changes. By reducing energy requirements up to 20 times, VoltaSplit is set to revolutionize distillation processes by enabling essential industries to produce at lower costs while saving on GHG emissions.
In addition to reducing emissions, electrification enables the use of CO₂ as an input in processing 2 organic solvents such as ethylene carbonate, primarily used as a solvent in lithium battery electrolytes. Strongly driven by the rise of electric vehicles, demand for lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries is projected to increase by approximately 27% annually by 2030.5 Energy storage and conversion technologies, however, require a higher purity of ethylene carbonate than their current applications.
In China, Sulzer is enhancing the production of ultra-high purity ethylene carbonate using our advanced melt crystallization technology. This technology produces up to 60'000 tonnes of ethylene carbonate per year. The high purity of this product improves the long-term performance of these batteries. Additionally, Sulzer’s purification process is designed to minimize energy consumption by operating under mild conditions, ensuring high reliability and low maintenance.
Managing waste and natural resources
Just as it is crucial for industry to reduce emissions and consume less energy, being able to meet performance targets and comply with purity quality standards is equally important. Sulzer innovation is enabling cleaner, more energy-efficient chemical processes, but as part of our strategic commitment to operational excellence, we also strive to support more efficient use of materials. For example, our solutions support and enable biobased and biodegradable and recyclable plastic, which serves to reduce both waste and emissions.
Early in 2024, Sulzer agreed to supply its cutting-edge lactic acid to polylactic acid (PLA) production technologies to Balrampur Chini Mills Limited (BCML) to support the construction of India’s first bioplastics plant. Located adjacent to one of BCML’s sugar cane processing facilities, the bioplastics plant will produce 75'000 tonnes of compostable, wholly recyclable bioplastic per year using sugarcane as a feedstock. In addition to supporting the company’s sustainability goals, the new bioplastics plant will provide further diversification for the sugar producer, adding to its bioethanol and power generation schemes.
More recently, Sulzer’s licensed PLA technology was selected by Emirates Biotech, which began constructing the world’s largest PLA production facility in January 2025. The facility is leveraging our lactic acid to PLA technology to manage all production steps from a single location based in the United Arab Emirates.
As industries worldwide strive to meet their production and reduction targets more efficiently, Sulzer innovations are helping them to bridge these competing requirements, reducing emissions, enabling recycling and circularity, and improving operational efficiency – thereby contributing to a more prosperous economy and a sustainable society.
Nature's allyFebruary 26, 2025The need to balance economic growth with the world’s ecosystems requires innovative, multifaceted collaboration for a long-term, integrated approach. As an enabler of essential industries, working in the same markets, Sulzer’s solutions play a key role in aligning operational efficiency with environmental stewardship.
Pearl of the seaFebruary 26, 2025Sulzer’s engineering expertise is proving pivotal in today’s rapidly evolving industrial landscape. Just as a pearl forms over time to protect the oyster from irritants, we draw on decades of experience to develop advanced technology solutions that enable industry to better manage increasing demand, resource scarcity and environmental challenges through more sustainable and efficient processes.
