Canada’s Poloz Joins Board of Renewable Gas Developer OMNI

(Bloomberg) -- Former Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz, who sits on the boards of pipeline giant Enbridge Inc. and technology services firm CGI Inc., landed another director seat.

OMNI Conversion Technologies Inc., a developer of systems that turn garbage into gases such as hydrogen, said Thursday the economist who led Canada’s monetary policy until June of last year is joining its board. Poloz will also chair the Ottawa-based company’s governance committee. 

Daniel Kammen, one of the scientists in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change who shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize, will also join OMNI’s board. 

“These are people who have looked at our technology and believed in it and its utility for solving some of the problems that persist around the world,” OMNI Chief Executive Officer Jonathan Lundy said in a phone interview. 

In April, OMNI sold its first commercial waste-to-hydrogen unit to process municipal garbage in California.

“We’re all rallying around the energy transition to net zero,” Poloz said in a phone interview. “This company has a real unique thing to offer to make that transition.” 

Poloz is also a special advisor at business law firm Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt. 

OMNI is in discussions with companies in North America, Europe and Asia, though Lundy expects many of its customers will be municipalities within the next 20 years. 

©2021 Bloomberg L.P.