Carbon Capture and Storage in Canada, Where We Stand Today

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) in Canada is not a climate change silver bullet, but it is a growing part of how we are dealing with hard-to-eliminate carbon emissions.

Canada is already a global leader in this space. There are five commercial-scale CCS projects operating right now, with dozens more proposed or in early development. So, Canada is ahead of many countries stuck in the pilot stage.

Learn more in the in-depth article, Current Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) Operations in Canada, by Lark Scientific researcher Lucas Bettle.

The Global Picture

Worldwide, CCS is growing fast, but it is still small compared to total emissions.

• Around 50 commercial CCS facilities operate globally, five of which are in Canada

• Current projects capture about 51 million tonnes of CO2 per year, but global emissions sit closer to 48 billion tonnes per year

CCS is a tool, but doesn’t replace the need to reduce fossil fuel use.

How Carbon Capture Works

Most carbon capture is set up at industrial sites with concentrated emissions, especially power plants, cement facilities, steel mills, and hydrogen production facilities.

The most common approach separates CO2 from exhaust gases before it reaches the atmosphere. Chemical solvents bind the CO2, releasing it later for compression and transport.

Alternatively, direct air capture pulls CO2 straight from the air using similar chemistry, but since CO2 levels in ambient air are so low, it is more expensive and energy intensive.

What Happens After CO2 is Captured

Captured carbon needs to be stored permanently, or it defeats the point. Canada uses a few main storage approaches.

• Enhanced oil recovery (EOR), where CO2 is injected into aging oil fields. Some of the CO2 stays underground, while oil production increases.

• Deep saline formations, which trap CO2 in porous rock beneath impermeable layers. Over time, the CO2 dissolves or mineralizes.

• Mineral carbonation, where CO2 reacts with magnesium or calcium-rich rocks to form solid carbonates.

  
  

Operational Commercial Scale CCS Projects in Canada

Canada’s 5 operating projects capture about 7.25 million tonnes of CO2 annually, about 1% of our national emissions.

• A large saline storage project tied to hydrogen production near Edmonton

• A major CO2 pipeline system feeding enhanced oil recovery in central Alberta

• The world’s first coal power station with integrated CCS in Saskatchewan

• Smaller gas plant projects that are scaling up in phases

• Long-running CO2 injection projects in Saskatchewan oil fields with decades of monitoring data

Together, these projects show that CCS can work across different industries and regions.

Future Growth Relies on Government Support

Public policy is critical to whether CCS gets built. Canada’s governmental policy supports commercial carbon capture with:

• Hundreds of millions of dollars in research funds

• Front-end engineering studies

• A dedicated investment tax credit

  
  

In Summary

CCS is not a free pass to keep emitting forever. It is costly, complex, and limited in scale. But for sectors where emissions are tough to eliminate, it is one of the few tools that works right now.

In Canada, CCS has moved beyond the experimental stage. The next decade will decide how big a role it actually plays in reaching net-zero by 2050.