OPTEL, a leading global provider of supply chain traceability systems, has received a funding commitment of several million dollars from Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC) to enable Glencore, one of the world’s largest global natural resources companies, to adopt environmental traceability technologies. SDTC helps Canadian entrepreneurs accelerate the development and deployment of globally competitive clean technology solutions. The funding commitment will allow OPTEL to deploy its CO2 traceability solution within Glencore Canadian Operation, which will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions from supply chains and improve its recycled material content.
“The support of the SDTC will allow us to deploy our technologies on a global scale to save more than 10 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents,” said Louis Roy, founder and president of OPTEL. “This is a significant contribution to a healthier environment and a more sustainable world, which has always been the cornerstone of OPTEL’s mission.”
“Both the Horne Smelter and the CCR Refinery, where the technology will be developed and implemented, already feature a low carbon footprint thanks to their hydroelectric power supply and the various projects completed over the years to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. This technology will enable us to evaluate our carbon footprint through the entire supply chain of processing various feeds including recycled material, our intermediate product copper anodes and the final product cathode, including the percentage of recycled inputs contained in them. I am certain that this project will enable us to identify opportunities to further reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, which is in alignment with Glencore’s ambition to be a net-zero emissions company by 2050,” says Claude Bélanger – Chief Operating Officer of Glencore’s North American Copper Assets.
For this project, OPTEL will develop and implement a solution to dynamically track and assess the copper processed at both Glencore facilities in Québec. With the help of the CIRAIG research group and Propulsion Quebec, OPTEL will provide Glencore with an active inventory of their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (Scopes 1, 2 and 3) captured across their supply chain.
Glencore will benefit from OPTELl traceability platform with the ability to dynamically measure its GHG emission as well as the quantity of recycled content, at the unit level, in the smelted and refined copper. The collected information will be fully compatible with existing and upcoming standards for further sharing with downstream stakeholders. The architecture will provide actionable, granular, real-time data to confirm product provenance and recyclable content while maximising production efficiencies to provide a competitive advantage of reduced carbon emissions. The result will be a more efficient, transparent and sustainable mineral supply.