Shell's Polaris Project to Join Canada's Growing CCS Market

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology took another step forward in Canada this week when Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL) (London, England) announced its final investment decision (FID) in favor of a CCS project at its Scotford complex in Alberta. It is one of more than US$40 billion worth of active or proposed CCS projects across Canada tracked by Industrial Info, including efforts underway from major industry players such as Dow Incorporated (NYSE:DOW) (Midland, Michigan) and Air Products and Chemicals Incorporated (NYSE:APD) (Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania).

Click on the image at right for a graph detailing the top 10 parent companies for active or proposed CCS projects across Canada, by total investment value.

Dubbed the Polaris Project, Shell's CCS unit would capture and store up to 750,000 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year from its Scotford Refining and Chemicals complex in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, in its first phase. The second phase would involve building a carbon storage hub to store third-party emissions alongside those from Scotford, which Shell says would help to establish a hydrogen industry in the region. Scotford's refinery handles 96,000 barrels per day (BBL/d) and its chemical complex processes 992 million pounds per year.

The captured CO2 would travel via pipeline to a series of storage wells in the Basal Cambrian Sands, which also stores CO2 captured by Shell's existing Quest CCS project. Since it was completed in 2015, Quest has captured and stored about 1 million tons per year from the Scotford upgrader.

Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Project and Plant databases can learn more about the Polaris Project from a detailed project report and plant profile.

Last year, Shell announced it would invest $10 billion to $15 billion from 2023 through 2025 to support the development of low-carbon energy solutions such as CCS, low-carbon fuels and renewable power generation.

Other industry leaders with CCS projects nearing construction include Dow, which expects to begin construction this summer on its Path2Zero Project in Fort Saskatchewan. Dow says the Path2Zero Project will be the world's first net-zero integrated ethylene cracker and derivatives facility to capture both Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions, which are emissions from properties directly controlled by a company, and emissions from purchased power generation, respectively.

Off-gas from Dow's new unit will be sent to Linde plc's (NYSE:LIN) (Woking, England) air separation facility nearby, where it will be converted into hydrogen, which will be returned to Dow's unit to fuel its furnaces. Subscribers can read detailed reports on the Path2Zero and air separation projects.

Projects already under construction include Air Products' US$970 million Net-Zero Energy Complex in Edmonton, Alberta, which will use auto-thermal reforming technology to produce blue hydrogen for Imperial Oil Limited's (Calgary, Alberta) US$560 million Strathcona Refinery in Edmonton, itself designed to produce 20,000 BBL/d of renewable diesel. Both projects are set to be completed toward the end of 2025. Subscribers can read detailed reports on the projects from Air Products and Imperial Oil.

Not all of Canada's CCS projects are found in the Oil & Gas and Chemical Processing industries. The Metals & Minerals Industry has its own slate of related projects, such as Glencore International AG's (Baar, Switzerland) expansion of its Horne Copper Smelter in Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec, which processes 840,000 tons per year of copper. The project includes improvements to existing CCS systems and optimization of surrounding facilities to maximize emission reductions. Glencore also plans to upgrade nine existing dust collectors. Subscribers can learn more from a detailed project report.

Subscribers to Industrial Info's GMI Project and Plant databases can click here for a full list of detailed reports for projects mentioned in this article, and click here for a full list of related plant profiles.

Subscribers can click here for a full list of reports for active or proposed CCS projects across Canada.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) platform helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking more than 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).