Climate Change

Climate action planning

Over 140 countries have set goals to reach net zero which requires rapid decarbonization by all sectors over the coming decades. As our clients undertake the decarbonization of their operations, our dedicated team of climate change experts can support you through the following climate action planning services:

• GHG accounting and climate disclosures
• Decarbonization planning
• Climate policy and regulations
• Carbon markets
• Low-carbon product markets
• Climate change physical and business risk.

We have a proven track record of working with multinational organizations in the development of more than 300 climate-change-related studies and programs from scoping and feasibility through to construction and implementation in the metals, energy, and infrastructure sectors. Whether you need a decarbonization roadmap at the enterprise level or a bottom-up detailed plan for each site and process unit, we have the experience and expertise to ensure it is both actionable and implementable.

Climate resilience

We assess physical impacts of climate change and the adaptation required to withstand disasters to support our clients to improve the resilience of their facilities and businesses while achieving sustainable growth and economic prosperity.

Our global multidisciplinary team includes engineers and architects licensed in multiple jurisdictions, experienced in adaptation studies, assessments, and related projects, as well as climate policy specialists, risk management experts, biologists, geologists, and hydrologists.

Our services include but not limited to:

• Corporate policy and finance strategy, and stakeholder engagement.
• Facility resilience monitoring, risk assessment and management.
• Facility modification costs, conceptual, feasibility, and detail design studies, economic analysis.
• Disaster emergency preparedness, response, and recovery.
• Structural utilization for code requirements and historical peak climate-related loads comparing with forward-looking climate scenarios.
• Architectural design, including Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), Envision, and the Resilience Action List (RELi).

Low-carbon hydrogen

Hydrogen is a promising decarbonization tool for hard-to-abate industries—as a reductant in metallurgical processes such as iron and steelmaking, as a replacement for natural gas in industrial processes, as a fuel for heavy-duty transport, and as a feedstock for synthetic fuels. With expertise in hydrogen production with carbon capture, electrolysis using low-carbon power, and pyrolysis of natural gas, projects around the world are developing at a staggering pace from concept to execution. We help our clients navigate which approach is most applicable as a decarbonization solution and where hydrogen has a practical place. Partnering with our clients in support of their evolving climate change strategies enables us to view hydrogen through a comprehensive yet critical lens and to implement solutions that lead to real progress.

Examples:

• Detailed design of an electrolytic hydrogen storage and delivery system for an alumina refinery in Australia.
• Detailed design of a hydrogen and natural gas blending system for a utility company in Ontario.
• Designed and supplied a piping skid for injecting hydrogen gas into a conventional ironmaking blast furnace for a facility in Germany.

Carbon capture and CO2 storage

We are recognized for our deep understanding of our clients’ operations and processes, which is a key differentiator when considering carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS). Our expertise includes understanding the intricate details of our client’s processes, plant layouts with complex ducting networks, pretreatment requirements, and how these considerations influence the viability of CCUS. This allows us to determine the optimal way to reduce GHG emissions and monetize the CO2 once captured through our unparalleled experience in acid gas removal from natural gas production, gasification and post CO2 gasification capture projects, analogous SO2 gasification recovery and acid plant design, and as part of our work with conventional hydrogen production with carbon capture.

Examples:

• FEED study to retrofit a hot briquetted iron facility in US with a carbon capture system.
• Conceptual design of a CCUS retrofit for an existing 500 MW+ combined cycle power plant in Canada.
• FEED and EPCM services for the expansion of the CO2 injection capacity at an energy client’s Canadian facility.

Biomass and bioenergy

Biomass is recognized as a carbon neutral alternative to fossil fuel reductants and can provide sustainable and reliable energy generation, with the ability to deliver power on demand. This enables biomass to fill the gap created when other renewable energy sources are not generating (e.g., solar and wind).

We have a wide range of expertise spanning from solid biomass and biochar to liquid and gaseous biofuels. We can help with the assessment of supply, logistics, application, production, lifecycle implications and integration of biomass and bioenergy into brownfield and greenfield facilities.

Our team will work with you to develop strategies and programs that optimize the reliability and efficiency of your facility, while minimizing costs and risks.

Examples:

• Pre-feasibility study to assess the technical and economic feasibility for a biochar production plant to be co-located at the site of a South American metal client.
• Biodiesel and renewable diesel trial for mobile equipment in Northern Ontario, Canada to evaluate their impact on supply chain, locomotive maintenance and performance in cold environments for a global mining client.

Carbon and energy management

We combine our deep understanding of energy usage and key business drivers with in-depth sector expertise to identify tailored energy savings opportunities and energy management best practices to support decarbonization. We can help develop a business case and support funding through incentives, financing, and transactional support to turn concept into reality and ensure that value is realized through measurement and verification. These decarbonization-driven carbon and energy management opportunities include operating and maintenance changes, sustaining capital planning, improvements to fuel, energy consumption and supply, and transformational efficiency projects such as heat recovery from off gases and slags.

Examples:

• Energy optimization study to support GHG reduction targets for a confidential metal facility.
• GHG and energy audit to identify and prioritize decarbonization opportunities for a steel producer in the U.S.
• Trade-off study to investigate several heat recovery options through recirculation of furnace off gas to upstream operations for a South American nickel operation.

Process and heating electrification

Decarbonization of hard-to-abate industrial processes relies on the production, storage, and use of low carbon and renewable electricity. Identifying the optimal electrification and energy storage solution and configuration for your application can be challenging.

We have expertise in electrification solutions ranging from electric furnaces to high temperature process heaters, electric boilers and dryers, thermal energy storage, plasma torches, and more. We help you identify the financial and technical risks when evaluating electrification options and review the technical assumptions going into the financial models underpinning your investment

Examples:

• Conceptual study to assess the technical and economic feasibility of various technologies to reduce GHG emissions by electrifying steam generation for a European alumina refinery.
• Technical assessment to determine technical and economic viability of electrification as a pathway to net-zero for a greenfield lithium site.
• Net zero heating study to evaluated options for partial or full replacement of fossil fuels with low or net-zero GHG energy sources for steam generation at a South American copper smelter.