Metal fuels as clean energy carriers for powering the Canadian Arctic

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Clean, carbon-free sources of energy are essential for the economic development of the Canadian Arctic to replace the key role of diesel generators, which are polluting and lead to carbon dioxide emissions that cause climate change. So far, the concept of metal fuels, proposed by our team of scientists at McGill, appears to be the only alternative solution that meets all of the constraints for a good low-carbon energy carrier: safe, energy dense, reliable, and producible on very large scales at low cost.** We propose to build, and analyze the performance of, a turbulent metal fuel burner. The studies will be performed in our state-of-the-art combustion laboratory at McGill University and will include, but not be limited to, flame stabilization, flame temperature, NOx pollution, and turbulent flame speed measurements. Turbulent stabilized metal flames have received almost no prior study and this project is a key step towards developing metal fuels into a low-carbon energy solution.** This project will be done in collaboration with Tata Steel, a world-leading steel (iron) manufacturer, that has developed a novel iron powder that could be an excellent recyclable fuel. Tata Steel, through its iron mines and production facilities in Canada, is in a unique position to produce and commercialize metal fuels as both a supplier and customer. The Tata Group's global reach into many different technology domains, including mining, mineral processing, and transportation, is promising for the rapid adoption of metal-fuel technologies into a variety of sectors. Tata will strongly support this project in cash and in kind.** The development of the metal fuel concept will lead to the creation of intellectual property in Canada and allow the creation of companies that will produce both metal fuels and metal fuel burners. This new form of energy carrier will favor the development of renewable energy across the country, create the possibility to extract natural resources in remote locations in an environmentally-friendly way, and also develop international markets for the future export of Canada's excess clean electricity through metal fuels.**