James Millar
President & CEO
James Millar
President & CEO
As President and CEO, James Millar provides strategic leadership at the International CCS Knowledge Centre (Knowledge Centre). He directs planning and management in advancing the development of carbon capture technology as a key mitigation strategy for climate action. Under his management, Knowledge Centre engineers and analysts are building partnerships across industries to plan and develop large-scale CCS projects in Canada and around the world, enhancing and de-risking the investment opportunities around this growing technology.
Prior to joining the Knowledge Centre, James gained deep experience in energy, industrial infrastructure, and public policy. He began his career in Saskatchewan, where he was a senior advisor in government, before being appointed Director of Public Affairs for the 25,000-employee Calgary Health Region. He transitioned to the energy industry, providing public affairs direction to TransCanada Corporation (now TC Energy) during planning and development of major infrastructure projects including the Keystone XL and Energy East pipelines. Most recently, he managed public affairs for Pieridae Energy, working on a $10-billion LNG project off Canada’s east coast, and Pieridae’s planned carbon capture initiative.
Beth (Hardy) Valiaho
BA, LLB, LLM
Vice-President, Strategy & Stakeholder Relations
Beth (Hardy) Valiaho
BA, LLB, LLM
Vice-President, Strategy & Stakeholder Relations
As the Vice-President of Strategy and Stakeholder Relations, Beth represents the International CCS Knowledge (Knowledge Centre) amongst global decision makers and financiers to accelerate engagement on and understanding of the deployment of carbon capture and storage (CCS). With a focus on linking CCS knowledge globally to reduce locked-in investments and collaboratively support the goals of the Paris Agreement. Her understanding of complex climate change matters, policies and regulations, and international financing concerns act as a solid basis for assisting both national and international implementation strategies for technologies that support environmental targets.
Prior to joining the Knowledge Centre, Beth worked briefly as legal counsel for the provincial Crown utility. She pairs this industrial perspective with regulatory knowledge as Acting Director of Climate Change with the Government of Saskatchewan. These positions are reflective of Beth’s time with the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy where she focused on analysing provincial/territorial climate action plans and making recommendations for low cost and sustainable pathways. Beth’s legal education, teaching and practice have explored balancing energy, the environment, and social implications.
Debbie Kajati
Vice-President; Corporate Services and Communications
Debbie Kajati
Vice-President; Corporate Services and Communications
At the International CCS Knowledge Centre (Knowledge Centre), Debbie contributes to the integrity of the Corporation overseeing a strong governance structure and the provision of its corporate services. She provides the leadership, management and vision necessary to aid in the effective growth of the organization, its financial integrity, and the foundation for operating with efficiency and oversight. Debbie also oversees the communications, marketing, media relations functions to ensure the vibrancy of the Knowledge Centre brand and alignment with principles and mandate.
Prior to this appointment, Debbie had spent two decades at SaskPower where she had been the Manager of the Coal Combustion Products and Contracts Management Department, where her role was to develop, implement, lead and oversee a Contracts Management Department. Her career at the corporation started in 1994, helping set up and manage SaskPower International Inc. - a wholly-owned subsidiary of the SaskPower Corporation.
Conway Nelson
P.Eng, B.Sc, PMP
Vice-President, Project Development and Advisory Services
Conway Nelson
P.Eng, B.Sc, PMP
Vice-President, Project Development and Advisory Services
At the International CCS Knowledge Centre (Knowledge Centre), Conway oversees the team of engineers and project specialists that work on advancing carbon capture technology for second-generation and industrial application. A key focus for Conway is an emphasis on continuous improvement and optimization.
Prior to joining the Knowledge Centre, Conway worked at SaskPower where his career spanned over two decades, most recently in the role of Manager, at the Power Production Project Delivery Office. One of Conway’s primary focus was leading the team tasked with the portfolio of improvement projects on the carbon capture systems at Boundary Dam 3 CCS aiming to reduce amine cost and increase reliability/throughput. His experience at SaskPower also includes leading and managing large teams of project managers and project control specialists to deliver sustained power production as well as new generation projects ensuring effective project delivery.
Along with his depth of engineering expertise, Conway brings a formidable strength in project management, people management, leadership, and corporate improvement initiatives. He is comfortable working with multiple and complex projects ensuring effective project delivery whilst also fostering strong relationships with across engineering, operations, and support services team members.
Conway has his B. Sc. in Mechanical Engineering, from the University of Saskatchewan and his Project Management Professional designation from the Project Management Institute.
Doug Daverne
P.Eng
Director, Project Development & Advisory Services (Interim)
Doug Daverne
P.Eng
Director, Project Development & Advisory Services (Interim)
Doug’s focus at the International CCS Knowledge Centre (Knowledge Centre), is to provide advisory services to CCS projects through project management, technical reviews, and general advice to stakeholders. His substantial leadership and technical skillset combined with his relevant CCS engineering experiences and lessons learned from the SaskPower Boundary Dam 3 CCS Facility (BD3 CCS Facility) will help owners effectively advance the implementation of carbon capture technology.
Prior to joining the Knowledge Centre, Doug‘s had an enriching career at SaskPower which include the role of Project Manager of the BD3 CCS project, where he led the overall project, including execution of the CO2 capture retrofit, life extension of the power unit (Unit #3), and the modernization of Unit #3. Following this project, he also provided invaluable guidance and contributions to the performance improvements of the BD3 CCS Facility during operation.
Prior to undertaking the BD3 CCS project, he was also involved in studies of new coal-fired power generation with CCS, including other technologies such as oxyfuel.
Doug holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Saskatchewan and has over 34 years experience in the engineering field.
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Niall Mac Dowell
PhD. FIChemE FRSC
Acting Vice-President, Strategy & Stakeholder Relations
Niall Mac Dowell
PhD. FIChemE FRSC
Acting Vice-President, Strategy & Stakeholder Relations
As the Acting Vice-President of Strategy and Stakeholder Relations, Niall represents the International CCS Knowledge Centre (Knowledge Centre) amongst global decision makers and financiers to accelerate engagement on and understanding of the deployment of carbon capture and storage (CCS).
Niall’s focus includes linking CCS knowledge globally to reduce locked-in investments and collaboratively support the goals of the Paris Agreement. His understanding of complex climate change matters, policies and regulations, and international financing concerns act as a solid basis for assisting both national and international implementation strategies for technologies that support environmental targets.
Niall is a Professor in Energy Systems Engineering at Imperial College London and has more than a decade’s experience as a consultant to the public and private sectors. He is a Chartered Engineer, a Fellow of both the IChemE and the Royal Society of Chemistry. His research is focused on understanding the transition to a low carbon economy. Since receiving his PhD 2010, he has published more than 150 peer-reviewed scientific papers at the molecular, unit operation, integrated process, and system scales in this context.
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Mark Demchuk
B.Sc.
National Director, Strategy & Stakeholder Relations
Mark Demchuk
B.Sc.
National Director, Strategy & Stakeholder Relations
At the International CCS Knowledge Centre (Knowledge Centre), Mark supports the Canada CCS strand of work with insight into practical deployment and expertise that is shared with stakeholders. He represents the Knowledge Centre among national decision makers in government and organizations to align opportunities and provide services on strategic approaches to advance the implementation of carbon capture technology.
Prior to joining the Knowledge Centre, Mark enjoyed a long career in the upstream oil and gas industry spanning almost 4 decades. He has extensive technical experience in oilsands, conventional oil and gas, and power generation. Mark has built expertise in leading multi-disciplinary teams, strategic management, business development, project development and stakeholder relations. Sustainability and ESG as it relates to Canada’s energy industry has become a key focus area for Mark. It ties well with his experience gained while working for several years on the Weyburn-Midale CO2 Monitoring and Storage Project..
Mark has his BSc. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Calgary and has previously served on the Boards of ABSA (Alberta Boilers Safety Association) and IPPSA (Independent Power Producers Society of Alberta).
Mandy Selzer
Executive Assistant & Office Manager
Mandy Selzer
Executive Assistant & Office Manager
Mandy Selzer started with SaskPower with the Carbon Capture group in 2012. She then joined the International CCS Knowledge Centre in 2016 as the Executive Assistant and Office Manager. Previously Mandy worked for the Government of Saskatchewan in the Ministry of Education. When not at work, Mandy skips a competitive women's curling team.
Brent Jacobs
P.Eng, B.Sc
Engineering Team Leader
Brent Jacobs
P.Eng, B.Sc
Engineering Team Leader
At the International CCS Knowledge Centre (Knowledge Centre), Brent leads the team of engineers who apply application-based knowledge developed from the Boundary Dam 3 CCS Facility (BD3 CCS Facility) and subsequent studies to new carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects. Prior to joining the Knowledge Centre, Brent worked more than 20 years at SaskPower, specializing in the Performance of Thermal Power Generation and the integration of CCS. His experience with SaskPower includes service in Generation Planning studying future supply options including CCS, a Project Leader for Thermal Performance and Heat and Power Integration on the BD3 CCS Facility, a Turbine and Heat Rejection Lead on a pre-commitment study for a new build coal plant with CCS, and as a Performance Engineer for SaskPower’s thermal generating fleet.
A major highlight of Brent’s career is his work on the BD3 CCS Facility project resulting in a carbon capture process fully integrated with the Power Island, including the application of a Flue Gas Cooler. He continues to work on world-leading CCS projects with a goal of reducing the capital cost and applying the learnings from the BD3 CCS Facility.
Brent holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Saskatchewan and has nearing completion of his Masters in Process Systems Engineering at the University of Regina.
Zewei Yu
M.A.
Senior Advisor, Asia Relations
Zewei Yu
M.A.
Senior Advisor, Asia Relations
At the International CCS Knowledge Centre (Knowledge Centre), Zewei pursues opportunities of cooperation in the deployment of carbon capture utilization and storage (CCS/CCUS) projects through engagement with Asian countries. These opportunities allow for sharing of knowledge and experiences of large-scaled commercial CCUS projects and cluster development internationally through collaborative initiatives in the region; critical for allowing growth of Asian economies and supporting their climate change mitigation objectives. Capitalizing on the growing interactions between China and Canada, Zewei helped link China to Saskatchewan’s world leading academic and trade business development.
Under Zewei’s oversight as a Canadian certified translator, the Knowledge Centre has been able to make the important learnings about “Integrated Carbon Capture and Storage Project at SaskPower’s Boundary Dam Power Station” accessible to China.
Zewei obtained his graduate degree in Canada in 1990s. While pursuing graduate studies in Regina, he facilitated the contract awarding process for the Canadian Crown nuclear corporation to build the CANDU nuclear power plant in Qishan, China - the largest overseas turn-key project undertaken and financed by Canada. Also drawing on his public service experiences in climate change planning, Zewei has effectively presented Canadian CCUS achievements and expertise on international forums involving international governments and industries, financial institutions and think tanks.