As the world seeks opportunities to reduce their carbon output and meet emission reduction goals, Alberta’s Industrial Heartland (AIH) provides a solution to meet their needs. All across the Industrial Heartland, companies are innovating and creating solutions to diversify energy production and safeguard the environment.
Ground-breaking Geology Paired with Cost-advantaged Hydrogen
Access to world leading pre-built Carbon Capture and Storage infrastructure and favorable subterranean storage geology make the region an unparalleled destination for proponents seeking to decarbonize.
AIH is also a Government of Alberta Designated Carbon Storage Hub. As a Hub, the Government of Alberta has awarded Carbon Hub Operator status to six project proponents in the region, which will provide optionality for carbon dioxide sequestration services for industrial facilities.
Companies also plug and play with the Alberta Carbon Trunk Line in AIH. As Alberta’s first large-scale carbon capture utilization and storage project, it consists of a 240-kilometre pipeline collecting and transporting up to 14.6 million tonnes per year of CO2 for enhanced oil recovery and storage.
When paired with the proven CO2 sequestration capability in the region, companies in AIH are among the world’s lowest cost producers of low carbon hydrogen. As a resource, hydrogen supports emissions reduction and offers an opportunity to decarbonize sectors that are difficult to electrify. About 40% of hydrogen produced in Alberta comes from the Industrial Heartland.
Diversifying energy production
Silicon Ranch and Shell Canada have announced that they are building a 58-megawatt solar farm that will cover 20 percent of the electricity needs of the Scotford Complex. To the west, global solar giant Alpin Sun is studying the largest renewable energy development to date in central Alberta — a 1,200-acre, 200-megawatt solar farm — that will help power even more facilities.
Net Negative
Promising work is also being done to achieve net negative carbon emissions. For example, Hydrogen Naturally is considering AIH as a destination to utilize their developing technology to remove gigatonnes of carbon from the atmosphere. The company’s negative emission Bright Green™ Hydrogen is produced through innovative technology and sustainable forest waste. The outcomes? For one ton of Bright Green Hydrogen produced, 20 tonnes of CO2 are sequestered.
Sean Collins, CEO of Varme Energy, can’t wait to break ground in 2024 on its new waste-to-energy plant that is planned to be built in Alberta’s Industrial Heartland. Once operational, Varme Energy will work toward eliminating landfills. The plant will burn waste, extract the energy and capture the CO2.
“We very excited to be the first greenfield-to-carbon-capture facility built in Canada,” says Sean. “We are using proven technologies to improve waste management practice, create energy and capture carbon.”
Sean Collins adds, “For the built infrastructure, lower cost of carbon capture and sequester, capacity of the Alberta Carbon Trunk Line pipeline, Alberta’s Industrial Heartland is the belle of the ball.”
Destination: Heartland
“With the right talent, infrastructure, and business climate, the Industrial Heartland Region is leading the charge on Alberta’s energy transition and helping drive diversification,” says Mark Plamondon, executive director of Alberta’s Industrial Heartland.
“And we’re just getting started. With more than $45 billion in capital investment in AIH, Alberta’s Industrial Heartland Association’s goal is to see that amount grow to $70 billion by 2030. This illustrates that our region is catching the attention of investors around the world”.
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Karlee Conway
Director of Communications
ALBERTA’S INDUSTRIAL HEARTLAND ASSOCIATION
#300, 9940 – 99 Avenue Fort Saskatchewan AB T8L 4G8
Phone: 780-992-1518 | Fax: 780-998-7543
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