News

As the Challenge winner, Aqua-Guard will receive a $2m prize grant from NRCan. 

For the past 3 years, as part of the Challenge, Aqua-Guard has been developing a solution to address a critical gap in oil spill response: the efficient removal of floating oil sheens. While existing mechanical solutions effectively recover light to heavy viscosity oil spills, they fail to recover thin oil sheens—forcing responders to rely on inefficient and wasteful sorbents.

The three-staged structure of the Challenge supported and facilitated the in-depth research, development and rigorous testing that would have been difficult to complete without the awarded grants and funding received from the completion of key project milestones.

Aqua-Guard worked closely with collaboration from industry including incredible support from WCMRC (Western Canada Marine Response Corporation). WCMRC not only provided Aqua-Guard with critical design insight and feedback during the initial developmental/final stages but also assisted with personnel and vessel support during on-water field testing exercises. Other key collaborators to the project include Proactive Environmental, Staynor Response Services, CN Rail, Canadyne Technologies, Canflex and Cascade Aerospace.

The groundbreaking innovation in oil sheen recovery, named CFSH (Carbon Fibre Super Hydrophobic), introduces a first-of-its-kind mechanical solution capable of efficiently recovering ultra-thin oil sheens from water surfaces—a challenge previously deemed “non-recoverable” in the oil spill response industry.

The CFSH solution revolutionizes oil spill response by enabling:
• High-efficiency mechanical recovery of ultra-thin oil sheens (including recovery from 50 microns to less than 0.08 microns).
• Minimized waste and reduced disposal costs compared to sorbents.
• Versatility across all aquatic environments, including marinas, ports, lakes, rivers, refineries, offshore waters and ice-infested waters.

“We are incredibly proud to receive this recognition from Natural Resources Canada. This technology represents a major leap forward in environmental protection allowing response to previously deemed non-recoverable oil sheens and also by extending the end points of an oil spill. By closing this critical gap in oil sheen recovery, we look forward to keeping Canada’s and the world's waterways cleaner and safer for future generations.” - Cameron Janz, Chief Executive Officer, Aqua-Guard Spill Response Inc.

"Advancing innovative solutions for the detection and recovery of aquatic oil spills is vital for Canada’s ecosystems, wildlife, and communities. Aqua-Guard’s innovative solution improves our ability to respond to oil spills and expands the tools that can be used to safeguard our waters. This Challenge reinforces the federal government’s commitment to environmental protection, building on initiatives like Canada’s Oceans Protection Plan." - The Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources

More information about the innovative CFSH solution will be available in Q2 2025 as Aqua-Guard works to finalize the commercial solution.

To learn more about Aqua-Guard’s journey from 2022 to today, visit: https://ow.ly/nyfu50UZEvC

About Aqua-Guard

Aqua-Guard provides a range of state-of-the-the-art oil spill response solutions including the URO Skimmer System and the RBS TRITON™ range of oil skimmers—all built on Aqua-Guard’s patented RBS TRITON™ technology to deliver some of the highest efficiency and recovery rates in the industry.