Kite Company Creator & SFU Receive Ignite 2023 Award to Reduce Emissions and Improve Efficiencies in Aluminum Smelting Through Innovative High-Temperature Sensor Technology
VANCOUVER, BC – September 26, 2023, Innovate BC, a Crown Agency of BC that works to foster innovation across BC by helping companies start and scale across British Columbia, has awarded Kite Company Creator and Simon Fraser University (SFU) $300,000 through its Ignite Awards Program to fund their Aluminum Smelting Pot Sensor Technology Project. This funding will accelerate commercialization efforts to bring the project to market within three years.
Kite and its academic partner, Dr. Behraad Bahreyni of Simon Fraser University, are collaborating on a project to develop aluminum smelting pot sensor technology that seeks to increase the output of aluminum produced while decreasing electricity consumption and providing both environmental and safety benefits in one of the world’s most energy intensive processes.
“The aluminum smelting technical process has remained largely unchanged for the past century with incremental improvements representing the majority of technical advancements,” says John Walmsley, Head of Innovation & Technology for Kite Company Creator. “By creating a rugged dynamic data system with new sensors and AI driven insights, we can provide on-demand information to operators on the chemical state of the smelting pots. This allows them to respond immediately to fluctuations in the pot and to enable autonomous stabilization processes that support power grid load balancing, reduce energy consumption, reduce fugitive emissions, and increase operator safety in a process that accounts for 1% of the world’s energy use.”
The project will create a novel sensor to provide direct measurement of the in-process electrolyte bath and molten aluminum level during smelting. An automated, real-time measurement of these critical parameters from inside the challenging environment of smelting pots has been a key piece of missing information for operators. With these new insights, they can greatly improve their process control.
“We are committed to innovation that supports sustainability in the mining and primary materials industries.” Says Kari LaMotte, CEO of Kite Company Creator. “Aluminum plays a critical role in the energy transition, with demand expected to double by 2050. But the International Energy Agency’s assessment that the industry is not on track to reach net-zero emissions by 2050 is a stark reminder of the work that lies ahead. Our smelting project is one more step towards enabling a clean energy future and we are pleased to be collaborating with Dr. Bahreyni and the IMuTS Lab on this important work.”
“Innovate BC is honoured to support and invest in research and development projects in the natural resources and applied sciences,” says Tomica Divic, Interim President + CEO at Innovate BC. “Innovation in these fields is not just about shaping the future; it's about preserving our planet, optimizing our resources, and driving sustainable progress. Together, we are unlocking the boundless potential of our world's most valuable assets - knowledge and nature - for a brighter, greener, and more prosperous tomorrow."
About Kite
Kite Company Creator is a venture studio solving the most challenging problems in the natural resource industries. Headquartered in Squamish, BC, Kite was founded in 2021 by a group of industry veterans with the belief that climate change is the most urgent challenge of our lives, and that the building blocks of natural resources are paramount for a clean energy future.
Kite combines the best features of incubators, VC firms, and industry accelerators to create and fund new companies that target impactful problems in our natural resource industries. Some of the challenges these companies address include carbon emissions, industry reliance on fossil fuels, environmental damage, human safety concerns, and waste-to-value solutions.
The above are only possible through an evolution of perspectives within industry and the adoption and enablement of new technologies. Kite believes that by both collaborating with and empowering natural resource industries we will catalyze the global solutions that address the current climate crisis.
