MONTREAL, Dec. 22, 2017 /CNW/ - CN (TSX: CNR) (NYSE: CNI)
today announced that Calgary-headquartered Toyo Engineering Canada
Ltd. has been selected to design and build a pilot project to
produce CanaPuxTM pellets, a key step toward
demonstrating the commercial viability of moving bitumen by rail in
solid form.
"Working with InnoTech Alberta, CN has developed
CanaPuxTM, an innovative product and new way of
transporting bitumen that puts both safety and the environment at
the forefront," said Janet Drysdale,
vice-president of corporate development & sustainability at CN.
"This partnership with Toyo continues our development of a new
supply chain that has the potential to unlock offshore markets for
Canada's energy
producers."
CanaPuxTM are solid, dry pellets that will meet the
rigorous strength requirements for bulk transport, float in water
and do not leak or dissolve, so there is minimal risk of
environmental contamination to oceans, lakes and rivers. Toyo will
participate in a closed-loop pilot project to create equipment that
can solidify and re-liquefy up to 1,000 barrels of bitumen per
day.
"Toyo is proud to partner with CN and InnoTech Alberta to build
upon the innovative work they have done in the development of
CanaPuxTM pellets," said Taro
Takahashi, president of Toyo Engineering Canada Ltd.
"Demonstrating how bitumen will be transformed from liquid to
solid form and loaded into rail cars will be key to the successful
launch of this new supply chain."
CN and Toyo will create a presentation centre where interested
shippers, potential commercial partners and key stakeholders can
see the equipment and how the CanaPuxTM pellets process
would work from origin in Alberta
to potential customer destinations in markets around the world.
"This is an exciting step in the development of
CanaPuxTM pellets and we look forward to working with
Toyo to move this oil sands innovation forward," said Ross Chow, managing director of InnoTech
Alberta.
With the pilot, CN will produce CanaPuxTM pellets for
further large-scale supply chain testing, including movement of pux
in rail gondola cars, unloading at port locations, storage in
ground piles and loading of ships.
At the same time, CN continues to explore potential licensing
options for CanaPuxTM and identify potential customers.
Initial conversations have been met with enthusiasm from producers,
potential transloaders, ports and refiners.
CN is a true backbone of the economy whose team of approximately
23,000 railroaders transports more than C$250 billion worth of goods annually for a wide
range of business sectors, ranging from resource products to
manufactured products to consumer goods, across a rail network of
approximately 20,000 route-miles spanning Canada and mid-America. CN – Canadian National
Railway Company, along with its operating railway subsidiaries –
serves the cities and ports of Vancouver, Prince
Rupert, B.C., Montreal,
Halifax, New Orleans, and Mobile, Ala., and the metropolitan areas of
Toronto, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Calgary, Chicago, Memphis, Detroit, Duluth,
Minn./Superior, Wis., and
Jackson, Miss., with connections
to all points in North America.
For more information about CN, visit the Company's website at
www.cn.ca.
SOURCE CN