Alberta funding more CCUS projects

The government of Alberta said July 13 C$40mn (US$30.4mn) of funding from its Technology Innovation and Emissions Reduction (TIER) fund would be directed to Emissions Reduction Alberta’s Carbon Capture Kickstart programme.

The funding will support the expansion of carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) projects in Alberta by helping facilities determine if their industrial-scale projects are viable. If successful, the 11 projects could begin operating between 2024 and 2030, leading to more than $20bn in capital expenditures and reducing emissions by nearly 24mn mt/yr.

“We are serious about advancing and commercialising CCUS technologies in this province,” Alberta energy minister Sonya Savage said. “Carbon Capture Kickstart is another important investment that will help enhance the competitiveness of our energy sector and strengthen Alberta’s position as a world leader in developing CCUS technologies.”

Under terms of the funding, Emissions Reduction Alberta (ERA) will contribute up to 50% of a project’s cost to a maximum of C$5mn and a minimum of C$1mn. Some of the projects also received support from the federal government’s CCUS Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) Studies funding programme.

Companies that will receive Carbon Capture Kickstart support include:

• Canadian Natural Resources Limited, C$5mn for Oil Sands CCUS Pathways to Net Zero, a C$46.33mn project;
• Heartland Generation, C$5mn to support a C$38.37mn project to innovatively integrate carbon capture for clean power;
• Lafarge Canada, C$5mn for a C$27mn project to capture carbon at its Exshaw cement operation west of Calgary;
• Capital Power, C$5mn for a C$12.35mn CCS project at its Genesee power generating station west of Edmonton.
• Strathcona Resources, C$5mn for a C$10mn project to enable post-combustion flue gas carbon capture at in situ oil production facilities;
• Entropy, C$3.3mn to support its C$10.65mn investment in carbon capture technology at Athabasca Oil’s Leismer in situ bitumen facility;
• Agrium Canada Partnership, C$3.28mn for a C$12.6mn study of carbon capture at its Nutrien Redwater facility near Edmonton;
• Enmax Energy, C$3.06mn for a C$6.11mn carbon capture FEED study at the Shepard Energy Centre near Calgary.
• City of Medicine Hat, C$2.5mn for its C$5mn Project Clear Horizon;
• Vault 44.01, C$2.49mn for its C$15.58mn Hinton Bioenergy Carbon Capture and Storage Project, and;
• Suncor Energy Services, C$950,000 for a C$9.9mn evaluation of Svante CO₂ capture process at Suncor’s fluid catalytic cracker.