BioLargo Canada and Tu Nipi Form Indigenous-Led Partnership to Treat Oil Sands Process Water and More
https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/ch...wa-1219094
Partnership backed by a conditional grant commitment from Emissions Reduction Alberta to in support of $4.6 CAD million project, with commercial trials already underway in northern Alberta
WESTMINSTER, CA / ACCESS Newswire / September 10, 2026 / BioLargo, Inc. (OTCQX:BLGO) today announced that it and its subsidiary BioLargo Canada have entered into a strategic partnership with Fort McKay Oil Services, a registered First-Nation company, combining the resources and leadership of the companies to deliver treatment solutions for oil sands process water (OSPW), wastewater and industrial solutions in the Athabasca region of northern Alberta utilizing BioLargo's advanced water treatment and industrial technologies. The new venture, Tũ Nipi Water Solutions Ltd., is a First Nation led company in which BioLargo now holds a minority stake.
The timing reflects a shift in how Canada is approaching the OSPW challenge. Alberta's Oil Sands Mine Water Steering Committee reported that the province's tailings ponds hold more than 1.4 billion cubic meters of fluid tailings, and the Government of Alberta has accepted the committee's recommendations to develop and pilot treatment technologies and to establish science-based standards for treated water. At the federal level, Bill C-37, the First Nations Clean Water Act, was introduced in Parliament in June 2026 to set national standards for water services on First Nation lands and to support source water protection. Together, these developments have moved a long-standing challenge from study toward action.
Emissions Reduction Alberta has conditionally approved Tũ Nipi's first grant application to support commercial trials of BioLargo technologies for use in OSPW supporting a project budget of CAD $4.6 million. BioLargo Canada will be primarily responsible for the technology development and expects this to be the first of several funding opportunities associated with the venture.
Aside from the OSPW related work, Tũ Nipi and BioLargo Canada have identified potential clients and an initial wastewater project for which BioLargo's PFAS and odor control technologies are in development.
"Clean water is the top priority of every Canadian Indigenous community and the regulatory environment is finally catching up to that," said Ron Quintal, Tũ Nipi's Chief Executive Officer. "Fort McKay has learned to balance energy while prioritizing the environment. This partnership is about bringing solutions to problems that our people have been asking about for a generation."
BioLargo's work on oil sands tailing water dates to 2011, when it became a founding industrial partner in the NSERC Industrial Research Chair in Oil Sands Tailings Water Treatment at the University of Alberta, alongside major oil sands producers, EPCOR, COSIA, Alberta Innovates, and Alberta Environment. That initial research program assessed a wide range of treatment approaches for persistent organic contaminants in process-affected water (OSPW). Now that the regulatory framework in Canada has shifted towards implementation of solutions, BioLargo Canada, with support from the BioLargo family of companies, as well as strategic relationships already in place through BioLargo, brings an entire suite of advanced water treatment technologies designed to be combined into treatment trains for complex water, from oil sands process water to municipal and industrial wastewater. More on that history is available https://www.biolargowater.com/oil-sands-water
https://www.biolargowater.com/tu-nipi
"This is a venture led by First Nations people, in a community that has made embracing future generations its purpose, and we are honored to serve in it," said Dennis Calvert, President and CEO of BioLargo, Inc. "Our company's roots in this work are Canadian, and this is a return home. What we have today is a government pulling technology-based solutions like ours forward, a partner with real standing in the region, and a market that is ready to act."
The partners are planning a formal launch event in Fort McMurray this coming October with community, government, and industry participants. Additional details will be announced as Tu Nipi Water Solutions' projects advance.
https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/ch...wa-1219094
Partnership backed by a conditional grant commitment from Emissions Reduction Alberta to in support of $4.6 CAD million project, with commercial trials already underway in northern Alberta
WESTMINSTER, CA / ACCESS Newswire / September 10, 2026 / BioLargo, Inc. (OTCQX:BLGO) today announced that it and its subsidiary BioLargo Canada have entered into a strategic partnership with Fort McKay Oil Services, a registered First-Nation company, combining the resources and leadership of the companies to deliver treatment solutions for oil sands process water (OSPW), wastewater and industrial solutions in the Athabasca region of northern Alberta utilizing BioLargo's advanced water treatment and industrial technologies. The new venture, Tũ Nipi Water Solutions Ltd., is a First Nation led company in which BioLargo now holds a minority stake.
The timing reflects a shift in how Canada is approaching the OSPW challenge. Alberta's Oil Sands Mine Water Steering Committee reported that the province's tailings ponds hold more than 1.4 billion cubic meters of fluid tailings, and the Government of Alberta has accepted the committee's recommendations to develop and pilot treatment technologies and to establish science-based standards for treated water. At the federal level, Bill C-37, the First Nations Clean Water Act, was introduced in Parliament in June 2026 to set national standards for water services on First Nation lands and to support source water protection. Together, these developments have moved a long-standing challenge from study toward action.
Emissions Reduction Alberta has conditionally approved Tũ Nipi's first grant application to support commercial trials of BioLargo technologies for use in OSPW supporting a project budget of CAD $4.6 million. BioLargo Canada will be primarily responsible for the technology development and expects this to be the first of several funding opportunities associated with the venture.
Aside from the OSPW related work, Tũ Nipi and BioLargo Canada have identified potential clients and an initial wastewater project for which BioLargo's PFAS and odor control technologies are in development.
"Clean water is the top priority of every Canadian Indigenous community and the regulatory environment is finally catching up to that," said Ron Quintal, Tũ Nipi's Chief Executive Officer. "Fort McKay has learned to balance energy while prioritizing the environment. This partnership is about bringing solutions to problems that our people have been asking about for a generation."
BioLargo's work on oil sands tailing water dates to 2011, when it became a founding industrial partner in the NSERC Industrial Research Chair in Oil Sands Tailings Water Treatment at the University of Alberta, alongside major oil sands producers, EPCOR, COSIA, Alberta Innovates, and Alberta Environment. That initial research program assessed a wide range of treatment approaches for persistent organic contaminants in process-affected water (OSPW). Now that the regulatory framework in Canada has shifted towards implementation of solutions, BioLargo Canada, with support from the BioLargo family of companies, as well as strategic relationships already in place through BioLargo, brings an entire suite of advanced water treatment technologies designed to be combined into treatment trains for complex water, from oil sands process water to municipal and industrial wastewater. More on that history is available https://www.biolargowater.com/oil-sands-water
https://www.biolargowater.com/tu-nipi
"This is a venture led by First Nations people, in a community that has made embracing future generations its purpose, and we are honored to serve in it," said Dennis Calvert, President and CEO of BioLargo, Inc. "Our company's roots in this work are Canadian, and this is a return home. What we have today is a government pulling technology-based solutions like ours forward, a partner with real standing in the region, and a market that is ready to act."
The partners are planning a formal launch event in Fort McMurray this coming October with community, government, and industry participants. Additional details will be announced as Tu Nipi Water Solutions' projects advance.
