January 23, 2026

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By Lucas Bettle

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As governments and industries around the world aim to reduce CO2 emissions, carbon capture and storage (CCS) has emerged as an additional tool to complement traditional emissions reductions. CCS technology enables reduced emissions across a wide range of industries and even introduces the prospect of direct air capture. Canada is currently one of the leading countries for CCS, and planned projects and government initiatives aim to continue that trend.

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Globally, there are 50 commercial-scale CCS facilities in operation, with 5 in Canada. There are 628 projects worldwide and 53 in Canada at stages ranging from early development to in construction, with the majority being in the early development phase (Global CCS Institute, 2024). Current projects have the capacity to capture and store 51 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) of CO2, with an additional 365 Mtpa CO2 of capacity in development (Global CCS Institute, 2024). Global GHG emissions are approximately 48,000 Mtpa (Government of Canada, 2025).

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Carbon Capture Technologies

 

Carbon capture takes advantage of a variety of different technologies depending on the specific scenario. In most cases, carbon capture is performed during a specific step of the industrial process to mitigate emissions from that process. However, direct air capture is emerging as a viable technology as well.

 

CO2 can be captured from exhaust gas after fuel combustion. This technique is used across a wide range of industries, including power generation, cement production, steel, and oil and gas. Flue gases are put through a variety of processes, including denitrification, desulphurization, and dust removal, to provide a suitable feedstock for CO2 absorption. The most widespread commercial technique is monoethanolamine absorption (Dziejarski, 2023).

 

Direct air capture relies on similar solvent-based systems. However, the concentration of CO2 in ambient air is considerably lower than in flue gases. This impacts the efficiency of the process and can make it non-viable due to both technological and economic difficulties (U.S. Department of Energy).

 

There are currently four commercial direct air capture facilities in operation, with plants operating in California, Oklahoma, and two in Iceland. There are 16 additional facilities in various stages of development around the world (Global CCS Institute, 2024).

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Carbon Sequestration Methods

 

After CO2 is captured, it must be sequestered (permanently stored) to prevent release into the atmosphere. There are several different methods in widespread use today to permanently sequester captured CO2.

 

Enhanced oil recovery (EOR) compresses CO2 and injects it into mature oil reservoirs to increase pressure and reduce oil viscosity, improving recovery. About 30 to 50% of the CO2 injected remains trapped in the reservoir. This is the most widely used carbon sequestration method at a commercial scale (Global CCS Institute, Technical Aspects of CO2 Enhanced Oil Recovery and Associated Carbon Storage).

 

EOR sees such widespread use despite only partial CO2 capture due to its economic benefits, with many projects extending the lifespan of existing oilfields by decades. EOR was used for purely economic benefits long before CCS was an objective, with traditional operations having sourced CO2 from naturally-occurring underground deposits for this purpose (National Energy Technology Laboratory, 2015).

 

CO2 can also be stored in deep saline formations saturated with brine. The CO2 is injected under impermeable rock, immobilized in pores, and dissolved in saline water where it eventually mineralizes (Celia, 2015).

 

Mineral carbonation is another method for sequestering carbon. CO2 is injected deep into magnesium- and calcium-rich rock deposits. It then reacts to form stable carbonates like magnesite and calcite. Most of the CO2 is mineralized within several years (Matter, 2016).

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Current CCS Operations in Canada

 

As of 2025, Canada has five operational commercial-scale CCS projects. Together, they have a design capacity of roughly 7.25 Mtpa CO2. Canada’s total GHG emissions in 2023 were 694 million tonnes of CO2e, meaning that current CCS capacity matches 1 percent of the country’s annual emissions (Government of Canada, 2025). Total worldwide GHG emissions are approximately 48,000 Mtpa (Government of Canada, 2025).

 

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Shell Quest CSS

 

The Shell Quest CSS Project captures CO2 from the hydrogen plant at the Scotford Upgrader 40km northeast of Edmonton and transports it by pipeline to an injection site for sequestration in an underground saline formation. It sequestered 1 million tonnes of CO2 in 2023, with 9.8 million tonnes sequestered since operations began in 2014 (Alberta Energy Regulator, 2025). The project had a total capital cost of $1.3 billion, with $120 million awarded from the Clean Energy Fund and $745 million from the Province of Alberta (Government of Canada, 2025).

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Alberta Carbon Trunk Line

 

The Alberta Carbon Trunk Line transports CO2 captured from hydrogen production at the Sturgeon Refinery and Redwater Fertilizer Plant northeast of Edmonton to operations in Clive, Alberta. The CO2 is used in EOR. The project sequestered 1.4 million tonnes of CO2 in 2023, with 6.2 million tonnes sequestered since operations began in 2020 (Alberta Energy Regulator, 2025). The project received $30 million from the Clean Energy fund and $33 million from the ecoEnergy Technology Initiative (Government of Canada, 2024). Total project capital cost was $1.2 billion (Natural Resources Canada, 2013).​

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Boundary Dam Carbon Capture Project 

 

The Boundary Dam Carbon Capture Project in Estevan, SK,  began operations in 2014 as the first power station to implement CCS technology. It captures CO2 from the coal-fired Boundary Dam power station. In 2022, 857 thousand tonnes of CO2 was captured, with 5 million tonnes having been captured in total (International CCS Knowledge Centre, 2023). Total project capital cost was $1.24 billion (Natural Resources Canada, 2013).

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Glacier Gas Plant CCS

The Glacier Gas Plant CCS Project began phase 1 of its operations in 2022 with a capacity of 47,000 tonnes of CO2 per year. It captures CO2 from the exhaust streams of natural gas-fired engines and turbines at the Glacier Gas Plant in Saddle Hills County, Alberta. Phase 2 is under construction and will increase capacity by 160,000 tonnes per year (Government of Alberta, 2024). The total cost of phase 1 of the project was $31 million (BOE Report, 2022).

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Weyburn-Midale

 

Two current commercial CCS operations at the Weyburn and Midale oilfields in Saskatchewan began as part of the IEAGHG Weyburn-Midale CO2 Monitoring and Storage Project, which ran from 2000 to 2012 and studied methods for CO2 sequestration. CO2 was captured from a coal gasification facility in North Dakota and piped to the two fields for use in EOR (Petroleum Technology Research Center, 2013).

 

The operations at the two oilfields have changed hands between various companies since the end of the research project. Today, the CCS at the Weyburn oilfield is operated by Whitecap Resources Inc., with a capacity of 2 Mtpa and lifetime sequestration of 36 million tonnes (Whitecap Resources Inc, 2021). Operations at the Midale oilfield are currently under Cardinal Energy, with a capacity of 0.25 Mtpa and lifetime storage of 5.9 million tonnes (Cardinal Energy Ltd., 2025).

 

Together, these two projects had a total capital cost of $1.78 billion (Whittaker, 2010).

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Investment in Future CCS Projects in Canada

 

The Government of Canada has implemented a variety of measures to support future CCS projects in Canada. As part of Budget 2021, the Government of Canada is investing $319 million over seven years into research, development, and demonstrations (RD&D) to advance the commercial viability of carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) technologies. Natural Resources Canada is delivering on this commitment through the Energy Innovation Program (EIP) (Government of Canada, 2025).

 

In 2021 to 2022, the Office of Energy Research and Development ran a call for proposals for CCUS projects with up to $50 million in support for Front-End Engineering and Design (FEED) studies (Government of Canada, 2025). They received eligible submissions across three categories:

• Capture: 75 projects totalling $196.8 m

• Storage & transportation: 92 projects totalling $359 m

• Utilization: 55 projects totalling $46 m

 

The government has also created the Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) Investment Tax Credit (ITC). This ITC is related to the acquisition of property used to capture CO2 emissions from fuel combustion, industrial processes, or directly from the air, to transport the captured carbon, and to store it or use it in industry (Government of Canada, 2024).

 

The Government of Canada sets a minimum national price on carbon pollution, set at $95 per tonne CO2e as of 2025. Scheduled increases will raise this to $170 per tonne CO2e as of 2030, creating significant pressure to explore CCS methods that may not have been economically viable otherwise (Government of Canada, 2021).

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Future Prospects for CCS in Canada

 

Commercial CCS projects have already demonstrated their viability in Canada. With more projects planned and increasing government funding and pressure, CCS is set to play a substantial role in Canada’s efforts to reach net-zero emissions by 2050.
 

References

Alberta Energy Regulator. (2025). Alberta Energy Outlook 2025. 

BOE Report. (2022). Entropy Inc. provides operational update on Glacier CCS project.

Cardinal Energy Ltd. (2025). CARDINAL ENERGY LTD. ANNOUNCES FIRST QUARTER 2025 OPERATING AND FINANCIAL RESULTS. 

Celia, M. A. (2015). Status of CO2 storage in deep saline aquifers with emphasis on modeling approaches and practical simulations. Water Resources Research.

Dziejarski, B. (2023). Current status of carbon capture, utilization, and storage technologies in the global economy: A survey of technical assessment. Fuel.

Global CCS Institute. (2024). GLOBAL STATUS OF CCS 2024. 

Global CCS Institute. (Technical Aspects of CO2 Enhanced Oil Recovery and Associated Carbon Storage). 2013. 

Government of Alberta. (2024). Glacier Gas Plant CCS (Phase 2). 

Government of Canada. (2021). Update to the Pan-Canadian Approach to Carbon Pollution Pricing 2023-2030. 

Government of Canada. (2024, October 18). Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) Investment Tax Credit (ITC) . Retrieved from Government of Canada.

Government of Canada. (2024). Enhance Energy - Alberta Carbon Trunk Line Carbon Capture and Storage Project. 

Government of Canada. (2025, August 8). Canada Invests in Carbon Capture and Storage in Ottawa. Retrieved from Government of Canada.

Government of Canada. (2025, May 28). Energy Innovation Program - Carbon capture, utilization and storage RD&D Call . Retrieved from Government of Canada.

Government of Canada. (2025). Global greenhouse gas emissions. Retrieved from Government of Canada.

Government of Canada. (2025). Greenhouse gas emissions. 

Government of Canada. (2025). Shell Canada Energy Quest Project. 

International CCS Knowledge Centre. (2023). Carbon capture on BD3 – successful by design. 

Matter, J. M. (2016). Rapid carbon mineralization for permanent disposal of anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions. Science.

National Energy Technology Laboratory. (2015). Commercial Carbon Dioxide Uses: Carbon Dioxide Enhanced Oil Recovery . Retrieved from U.S. Department of Energy.

Natural Resources Canada. (2013). Alberta Carbon Trunk Line (ACTL). 

Natural Resources Canada. (2013). Boundary Dam Integrated Carbon Capture and Storage Demonstration Project. 

Petroleum Technology Research Center. (2013). The IEAGHG Weyburn-Midale CO2 Monitoring and Storage Project. 

U.S. Department of Energy. (n.d.). DOE Explains...Direct Air Capture. 

Whitecap Resources Inc. (2021). WHITECAP RESOURCES INC. PARTNERS WITH FEDERATED CO-OPERATIVES LIMITED TO REDUCE CO2 EMISSIONS IN SASKATCHEWAN. 

Whittaker, S. (2010). An Update on the Saskatchewan CO2 Floods (Weyburn+Midale) and Storage Monitoring Activities. 16th Annual CO2 Flooding Conference.