Carbon capture, utilization and storage – Development and innovation

Overview

Alberta has invested billions of dollars into carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) projects and programs, as well as significant regulatory enhancements and knowledge sharing. This support includes funding from the Technology Innovation and Emissions Reduction (TIER) fund.

CCUS development in Alberta

Alberta is among the leaders in CCUS, first as a pioneer injecting solvents into subsurface reservoirs for enhanced oil recovery in the late 1950s, then later conducting subsurface disposal of acid gases (including carbon dioxide) associated with natural gas processing. In 2010, Alberta developed Canada’s first comprehensive carbon sequestration legislation.

Alberta has several competitive advantages to enable CCUS and attract investment to the province:

• decades of experience in large-scale energy development
• decades of subsurface disposal and injection experience into geological formations
• extensive energy infrastructure and subsurface geologic storage capacity for CCUS
• the first jurisdiction in Canada with an established regulatory and risk management framework in place for large-scale CCUS projects and pore space management
• experience with employing CCUS on a commercial scale with the Quest and Alberta Carbon Trunk Line projects
• proven track record of innovation and integrating emissions reduction technology into energy production
• efficient regulatory oversight of subsurface development by the Alberta Energy Regulator
• commitment to best-in-class environmental standards as well as environmental, social and governance that provides certainty for investors
• strong partnerships with Indigenous communities and businesses to support Indigenous participation in resource development projects
• educated and experienced workforce that has the expertise and skills to support the global demand for clean energy

Current projects

Alberta’s government has spent over $1 billion on the Quest and Alberta Carbon Trunk Line projects.

The funding for both projects was developed based on their 2008 project proposals. The process and the funding agreements are explained in the following documents for each project:

• Quest consolidated funding document
• Alberta Carbon Trunk Line funding document

The Quest and Alberta Carbon Trunk Line projects have safely captured and stored a total of more than 17 million tonnes of carbon dioxide since 2015.

Quest Project

This project retrofitted Shell’s Scotford Upgrader for carbon capture and storage. The project is capturing carbon dioxide from oil sands upgrading and transporting it 65 km north for permanent storage approximately 2 km below the earth's surface.

Quest is designed to capture up to 1.08 million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year (approximately 35% of the carbon dioxide produced by the upgrader). The Quest project is the world’s first application of carbon capture and storage technology at an oil sands upgrader.

In 2010-11 an environmental assessment was completed.

Since commercial operations began in 2015, the Quest project has captured and stored over 10 million tonnes of carbon dioxide. The annual injection amounts up to 2024 are listed below (taken from the project's recent knowledge sharing documents).

Table 1. Knowledge sharing injection amounts reported (in million tonnes)

Alberta Carbon Trunk Line Project

The Alberta Carbon Trunk Line is a 240 km pipeline that carries carbon dioxide captured from the Sturgeon Refinery and the Nutrien Redwater fertilizer plant to enhanced oil recovery projects in central Alberta.

The designed capacity of the Alberta Carbon Trunk Line pipeline is up to 14.6 million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year, which will allow future CCUS projects to use it as the industry grows.

Enhance Energy Inc., the sequestration site operator for the Alberta Carbon Trunk Line project, has noted that since commercial operations began in 2020, the Alberta Carbon Trunk Line project has captured and sequestered over 7 million tonnes of carbon dioxide.

The annual injection amounts up to 2024 are listed below (taken from the project's recent knowledge sharing documents).

Table 2. Knowledge sharing injection amounts reported (in million tonnes)

Knowledge sharing

Alberta's investment in CCUS will also help make CCUS technologies more accessible. Both funded projects are required to share technical information and lessons learned. This will help future CCUS projects from around the world benefit from the lessons learned in Alberta. These reports are provided to Alberta’s government and it has obtained a licence or other authorization for use of the reports. See Alberta's carbon capture and storage knowledge sharing program records, which include a disclaimer and full terms and conditions of use.

Separate records are available by year for both the Quest and Alberta Carbon Trunk Line projects.

Grants and additional funding

Alberta Carbon Capture Incentive Program

Alberta is helping to accelerate the development of CCUS technology through the Alberta Carbon Capture Incentive Program.

By providing a grant of 12% for new eligible capital costs through the incentive program, Alberta will help hard-to-abate industries, such as oil and gas, power generation, hydrogen, petrochemicals and cement, reduce their emissions by encouraging the adoption of CCUS into their operations.

Alberta’s government is currently working on program specifics with more details expected to be available in 2026.

Alberta Innovates and Emissions Reduction Alberta

Through support from the Technology Innovation and Emissions Reduction (TIER) fund, Alberta’s government, Alberta Innovates (including its subsidiaries InnoTech Alberta and C-FER Technologies) and Emissions Reduction Alberta have invested over $240 million in more than 100 CCUS projects.

Emissions Reduction Alberta has invested $105 million to support CCUS-specific projects including $40 million in its Carbon Capture Kickstart program where it awarded funding to 11 projects.

• This funding is intended to lay the groundwork for significant future investments by supporting pre-construction studies for facility-specific opportunities. This investment will inspire shared learnings about the economic and emissions reduction potential of this critical technology and will position Alberta and Canada as developing CCUS technologies the world needs.

Alberta Innovates has invested over $100 million in funding opportunities including supporting more than 50 CCUS projects and provided financial support for the world-renowned Alberta Carbon Conversion Technology Centre.

The Alberta Carbon Conversion Technology Centre is a world-class piloting test centre for commercial-scale testing, de-risking CCUS technologies for industry and making them commercially viable. Clients can evaluate new CCUS technologies at a demonstration scale using flue gas or concentrated carbon dioxide from the amine-based capture unit, which is also available for research and development purposes. Professional services available include engineering support for technology optimization, laboratory and analytical services, facility support services and carbon capture unit research and development.

CCUS industry commitments and efforts

Continuing to develop this technology will help Alberta capitalize on emerging opportunities, such as clean hydrogen development and reduce emissions in industries across the energy sector and other industries, including concrete and fertilizer.

Industry and stakeholders across Alberta and Canada are increasingly interested in CCUS and many have already taken significant steps to advance this technology.

In Alberta, the Quest and Alberta Carbon Trunk Line projects have safely captured and stored a total of more than 17 million tonnes of carbon dioxide since 2015.

Other examples include:

• The Oil Sands Alliance Pathways Project has committed to carbon neutrality by 2050. The alliance is focusing on innovation and technology – such as CCUS – to reach its goal.
• Dow’s plan to use CCUS and build the world’s first net-zero carbon emissions integrated ethylene cracker at its site in Fort Saskatchewan.
• Air Products’ net zero hydrogen complex.

Contact

Connect with Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage:

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