Shell Canada Products, a subsidiary of Shell plc, has announced the final investment decision (FID) for two significant carbon capture and storage projects in Alberta, Canada.
The company will proceed with the Polaris project at the Shell Energy and Chemicals Park in Scotford and the Atlas Carbon Storage Hub in partnership with ATCO EnPower.
The Polaris project, which is fully owned by Shell, is designed to capture approximately 650,000 tonnes of CO2 annually from the Shell-owned Scotford refinery and chemicals complex.
This initiative has the potential to reduce Scope 1 CO2 emissions by up to 40 per cent at the refinery and up to 22 per cent at the chemicals complex.
In conjunction with Polaris, Shell has also given the green light to the Atlas Carbon Storage Hub, a 50-50 joint venture with ATCO EnPower. The first phase of Atlas will provide permanent underground storage for the CO2 captured by the Polaris project. The captured CO2 will be transported via a 22-kilometre pipeline to two storage wells at the Atlas Hub.
It will be stored approximately two kilometres underground in the Basal Cambrian Sands, the same geological formation successfully used by the Quest CCS facility.
Huibert Vigeveno, Shell’s Downstream, Renewable and Energy Solutions Director, emphasised the importance of these projects, stating: “Carbon capture and storage is a key technology to achieve the Paris Agreement climate goals. The Polaris and Atlas projects are important steps in reducing emissions from our own operations.”
These new projects build upon the success of the Quest carbon capture and storage facility at Scotford, which has safely captured and stored more than nine million tonnes of CO2 since 2015.
Both Polaris and Atlas are expected to commence operations by the end of 2028. This investment aligns with Shell’s broader strategy to invest $10-15 billion between 2023 and 2025 in low-carbon energy solutions, including e-mobility, renewable power, hydrogen, and carbon capture and storage technologies.
