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Calgary Herald

Parker: Calgary's Cvictus sourcing coal for sustainable livestock feed

Article content Calgary-based Cvictus, a clean energy and biotech startup, is poised to transform the way the world's livestock is fed by providing a low-cost, low-carbon, sustainable alternative to fish or soybean meal — and it's doing it by tapping into an abundant resource: coal. Article content No, it's not digging it up. Cvictus is revitalizing a pioneering method of extracting beneficial gases to produce feedstocks such as methanol, from coal found deep within the earth's surface without mining. Article content Article content 'We have giant dreams and expectations for where this technology will go, but as a startup we can't feasibly employ the resources required to scale,' says Katrina Stewart, Cvictus director, biotechnology and carbon reduction. 'Academic researchers provide the innovation, expertise and drive we need to help move the needle forward on this exciting technology.' Article content Brought up in Calgary, Stewart earned her chemical engineering degree at Queen's University in Kingston, Ont., before expanding her sciences understanding by spending a year in Edinburgh, Scotland, where she enjoyed studying for her Masters in Brewing and Distilling. Article content Article content Back home in Calgary she is converting that same drive in working with Mitacs-supported researchers to help Cvictus advance two separate, yet integrated projects. Article content On the clean energy side, they're contributing to commercialization of the company's large-scale hydrogen recovery platform at a cutting-edge facility near Red Deer. Hydrogen is produced from deep within a coal seam using patented technology that successfully sequesters carbon at the same time. Article content On the biotech side, Cvictus is tapping into cutting edge expertise at University of Alberta's Biorefining Conversions and Fermentation Laboratory under the supervision of professor David Bressler, and in consultation with experts who worked on the original technology.