An oil refinery near Grande Prairie. (Photo: Golasza | Dreamstime.com)

By David Opinko

Alberta commits $40 million to carbon capture projects

Jul 13, 2022 | 2:33 PM

CALGARY, AB – The Alberta Government is funding nearly one dozen initiatives aimed at reducing carbon emissions.

$40 million has been allocated to 11 carbon capture projects through Emissions Reduction Alberta’s (ERA) Carbon Capture Kickstart Program.

Environment and Parks Minister Whitney Issik says the government is helping facilities to determine if their industrial-scale projects are viable.

“Alberta’s investments in homegrown technologies are good for the environment and the economy,” says Issik. “This commitment is proof that Alberta and our key industries are ready to build on our long-standing global leadership on emissions reduction.”

The successful grant recipients are as follows:

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• Canadian Natural Resources Limited*
  Oil Sands CCUS Pathways to Net Zero
  ERA funding: $5 million
  Project cost: $46.33 million
• Heartland Generation Ltd.
  Innovative Integration of Carbon Capture for Clean Power
  ERA funding: $5 million
  Project cost: $38.37 million
• Lafarge Canada
  Exshaw Cement Carbon Capture and Bow Valley Decarbonization
  ERA Funding: $5 million
  Project cost: $27 million
• Capital Power Corporation
  Genesee CCS
  ERA funding: $5 million
  Project cost: $12.35 million
• Strathcona Resources Ltd*
  Post-Combustion Flue Gas Carbon Capture at Cold Lake Region SAGD Facilities
  ERA funding: $5 million
  Project cost: $10 million
• Entropy Inc.
  Athabasca Leismer Carbon Capture
  ERA funding: $3.3 million
  Project cost: $10.65 million
• Agrium Canada Partnership
  Nutrien Redwater Carbon Capture Study
  ERA Funding: $3.28 million
  Project cost: $12.6 million
• Enmax Energy Corporation
  Shepard Energy Centre Carbon Capture Unit FEED Study
  ERA funding: $3.06 million
  Project cost: $6.11 million
• City of Medicine Hat*
  Project Clear Horizon
  ERA funding: $2.5 million
  Project cost: $5 million
• Vault 44.01*
  Hinton Bioenergy Carbon Capture and Storage Project
  ERA funding: $2.49 million
  Project cost: $15.58 million
• Suncor Energy Services Inc.*
  Svante’s CO₂ capture process for Suncor’s Fluid Catalytic Cracker
  ERA funding: $950 thousand
  Project cost: $9.9 million

Energy Minister Sonya Savage says the aforementioned 11 projects represent a wide range of industrial sectors including power generation, cement, fertilizer, forest products, and oil and gas.

“We are serious about advancing and commercializing CCUS [carbon capture, utilization and storage] technologies in this province,” says Savage. “There’s a reason Alberta has been the host of several world-first commercial projects. 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.”

ERA is contributing up to 50% of each project’s cost to a maximum of $5 million. To date, they have given $830 million to 230 projects worth more than $6.6 billion.