MISSISSAUGA, ON, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ - Imtex Membranes Corp. has reached its target funding goal of $20 million with over $10 million from SABIC Ventures US Holdings LLC ("SABIC Ventures") and Valent Low-Carbon Technologies, over $6 million from Sustainable Development Technologies Canada ("SDTC") and $3 million from Emissions Reduction Alberta ("ERA").

Imtex's Permylene^TM membrane technology reduces energy and emissions intensity of light olefins, the main building blocks for resins and rubber chemicals. In the production process these olefins, namely ethylene, propylene and butene, must be separated from paraffins, being ethane, propane and butane. Traditional incumbent processes are energy-intensive, generating annual CO2e emissions equivalent to 40 million passenger vehicles.

"With over 10,000 hours of pilot operations demonstrating stable, on-spec results, Imtex has proven it can consistently achieve polymer-grade purification of olefins in a cost-effective, low-energy product offering. We now have the funding required to move forward on all fronts," said Karlis Vasarais, CEO, Imtex Membranes.

SABIC Ventures' parent company is a global leader in diversified chemicals with $40 billion in revenues and operations around the world.

"In a short period, Imtex has shown significant progress on the SABIC project. We are excited about our investment to support an accelerated scale-up and roll-out of their technology," said Aruna Subramanian, Managing Director, SABIC Ventures.

The focus of the investment is to build out two commercial facilities in Alberta and Ontario processing C3 refinery grade propylene and C4 raffinate. In addition, funding proceeds will be used for several other global behind-the-fence projects (C2 and C4 olefin streams) in the United States, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and South-East Asia.

"Over 40% of energy in petrochemicals is associated with chemical separations. SDTC is proud that our early and ongoing support of Imtex is helping lead to a significant funding milestone and further progress toward commercialization," said Leah Lawrence, President & CEO, SDTC.

"ERA is pleased to work with investment partners, such as SDTC, and entrepreneurs like Imtex, to leverage funds that accelerate new technologies to reduce emissions from petrochemical production. This unified approach demonstrates Alberta's and Canada's global leadership potential in low-carbon, hydrocarbon production." said Steve MacDonald, CEO, Emissions Reduction Alberta.

Since inception, Imtex has received funding in excess of $22 million, led by Monteco Ltd. The research that materialized into Imtex's pilot facilities was supported by a series of Ontario and Canada Federal government investments. Most recently, Imtex has received funding from the Province of Ontario, through the OCE Voucher for Innovation and Productivity, GreenCentre Canada's CONNECT Program supported by NRC-IRAP, and BioIndustrial Innovation Canada's Ontario Bioindustrial Innovation Network (OBIN) which supports cluster development in Sarnia-Lambton and Eastern Ontario.

About IMTEX (www.imtexmembranes.com)

Imtex Membranes Corp. is an innovative Ontario-based membrane technology company that delivers energy and emissions reductions to olefin production. Imtex's Permylene^TM membrane separation technology separates paraffins and purifies olefins, the building blocks for polyolefin resins and rubber chemicals. Imtex's technology was invented by Dr Xianshe Feng, University Research Chair & Professor of Chemical Engineering at the University of Waterloo in Ontario.

About SDTC

Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC) is a foundation created by the Government of Canada to support Canadian companies with the potential to become world leaders in their efforts to develop and demonstrate new environmental technologies that address climate change, clean air, clean water and clean soil.

About Emissions Reduction Alberta (ERA)

For more than 10 years, ERA has been investing the revenues from the carbon price paid by large final emitters to accelerate the development and adoption of innovative clean technology solutions. Since established in 2009, ERA has committed $542 million toward 163 projects worth over $4 billion that are helping to reduce GHGs and create competitive industries and are leading to new business opportunities in Alberta. These projects are estimated to deliver cumulative GHG reductions of 39.5 million tonnes by 2030.

About Valent Low-Carbon Technologies

Valent is a Canadian company that is aggregating the low-carbon fuels value chain. Valent is a coalition of energy industry stakeholders, major institutional investors including Kensington Private Equity Fund and CFFI Ventures, and seasoned clean energy technology entrepreneurs. Valent has operations across Canada in Alberta, South West Ontario, and the Maritimes.

About SABIC Ventures

SABIC Ventures' parent company is a global leader in diversified chemicals headquartered in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It manufactures on a global scale in the Americas, Europe, Middle East and Asia Pacific, making distinctly different kinds of products: chemicals, commodity and high-performance plastics, agri-nutrients and metals.

SOURCE Imtex Membranes Corp.