Shell announced a proposal to build a large-scale carbon capture and storage project at its Scotford Complex in Alberta’s Industrial Heartland.
The Polaris CCS project, the largest in a series of low-carbon opportunities Shell is exploring, will capture carbon dioxide from Scotford refinery and chemicals plant. The initial phase is expected to start operations around the middle of the decade, subject to a final investment decision by Shell expected in 2023. Polaris will have storage capacity of about 300 million tonnes of CO2 over the life of the project.
The initial phase of the Polaris CCS project will capture and store approximately 750,000 tonnes a year of CO2 from the Scotford refinery and chemicals plant and create up to 2,000 jobs.
The second phase of the Polaris CCS project involves the creation of a CO2 storage hub in Alberta. Fully built, Polaris could serve as a CO2 storage hub for more than10 million tonnes of CO2 each year.