Solution Developer

Agilitas Advisory

Project Description

Canada’s oil sands sector generates significant volumes of carbon‑rich residuals such as asphaltene, which are costly to manage and contribute to rising Scope 1 emissions. AdvEn Inc. has developed a first‑of‑its‑kind circular carbon platform that converts these residuals into high‑value activated carbon products - ASAC and ESAC - using a patented, low‑emission, solvent‑free process. This innovation directly supports CRIN’s mandate to accelerate transformative technologies that reduce GHG emissions, strengthen Canada’s energy competitiveness, and build new clean‑technology value chains. By turning a challenging by‑product into a strategic material for energy storage, filtration, and hydrogen applications, AdvEn enables a scalable pathway for both decarbonization and economic diversification within Canada’s energy ecosystem.

AdvEn’s ESS‑AC process uses a non‑combustion, low‑temperature conversion pathway that achieves up to 65% lower GHG emissions and 90% lower energy consumption compared to conventional activated carbon production. The system is modular and designed for integration with existing oil sands and upgrading facilities, enabling producers to convert a low‑value residual into a high‑value product while materially reducing emissions and waste liabilities. This creates a circular, closed‑loop model where carbon that would otherwise be stockpiled or combusted is instead upgraded into a clean‑tech material with global demand.

The resulting ASAC and ESAC products serve rapidly growing markets. ASAC delivers superior adsorption performance for industrial filtration, water purification, and catalytic processes. ESAC provides the high surface area, conductivity, and pore structure required for next‑generation energy storage systems, including supercapacitors, sodium‑ion batteries, and emerging solid‑state technologies. These applications are strategically important as Canada builds domestic capacity in critical materials and advanced energy systems.

AdvEn has already demonstrated the technology at pilot scale, operating an 800‑tonne‑per‑year facility and supplying product to more than 50 global customers for qualification. The company has secured Letters of Intent representing 2,900 tonnes of future demand, and independent third‑party assessments have validated both the emissions‑reduction potential and the performance characteristics of the materials.

This project will advance the ESS‑AC platform toward commercial deployment through engineering scale‑up, process optimization, and integration planning with oil sands operators. It will also support downstream product qualification with battery and energy storage partners. By enabling a low‑carbon, circular pathway for oil sands residuals, AdvEn strengthens Canada’s clean‑energy value chains, reduces emissions, and creates new economic opportunities across the energy and materials sectors.

Support Requested

Seeking strategic support to accelerate deployment:
1) Plant Process Optimization - Yield, Product Spec, Processing Time
2) Working Capital – Support Customer qualification programs and Letters of Intent conversion
3) ESAC Pilot – IP development, pilot production, offtake testing
4) Scale Modular Capacity – design-build for 10,000MT commercial plant (NA/EU)

Project Resources

https://adveninc.com/

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