Page 193 - CW E-Magazine (10-12-2024)

Special Report Special Report

“And only 1.6-mtpa of ACTL’s
Canada’s top clean hydrogen region targets from one facility can become the inputs Decarbonization advantage total capacity is being used, captured
to another, and central infrastructure
The foundation stone of AIH’s de-
East Asian markets and utilities can be leveraged to carbonization advantage is the Western emissions from the NWR refi nery and
enhance competitive advantage.”
Canadian Sedimentary Basin (WCSB) Nutrien, so there’s surplus capacity in
he Canadian and Albertan govern- Saskatchewan and Edmonton), is Canada’s VINCENT LAUERMAN providing ideal conditions for storing that system right now,” Plamondon said.
ments have been supporting the largest hydrocarbon processing cluster Hence, the AIH’s industrial cluster massive volumes of captured carbon
Tdevelopment of clean hydro- and top clean hydrogen center, already profi t organization promoting economic model improves industrial effi ciencies dioxide (CO ) securely and permanently, Government advantage
2
gen export projects since releasing producing substantial amounts of blue activity in the region, believes Final and land-use, reduces industrial green- and current and proposed infrastructure “The Heartland has tremendous
their respective hydrogen strategies in hydrogen as industrial feedstock for Investment Decisions (FIDs) and more house gas (GHG) footprint, and pro- to do so, according to Plamondon. support from all three levels of govern-
December 2020 and November 2021, upgrading and refi ning of bitumen/ projects will follow given the Heart- motes increased innovation, Plamondon ment, including stackable fi nancial
with Alberta’s Industrial Heartland crude oil, and for fertilizer and chemi- land’s many competitive advantages added. The WCSB’s porous rock forma- incentives,” Plamondon said.
(AIH), in the vicinity of the province’s cal production in the region. over the competition. tions, which have been extensively
capital Edmonton, ground zero for Feedstock advantage studied and utilized for oil and gas Alberta has the lowest corporate tax
potential blue ammonia exports to East To date, fi ve consortiums have The Heartland’s competitive AIH has also benefi ted from abun- extraction, have been proven to be well- rate in Canada at 8% and no provincial
Asian markets (see Fig. 1). proposed world-scale blue ammonia advantages dant and relatively low-cost feedstock suited for CO sequestration, while sales and payroll taxes, while the
2
export projects for AIH, targeting pri- The fi ve key advantages for hydro- for hydrogen and other hydrocarbon Alberta is a global leader in carbon province has a relatively streamlined
AIH, a 582-square kilometer pre- marily the Japanese and South Korean carbon processors, including producers processing compared to the US Gulf capture and storage (CCS). regulatory process for getting capital-
zoned industrial region in parts of markets, while Mark Plamondon, exe- of blue hydrogen and its derivatives Coast, which should continue in the intensive projects built.
three counties (Lamont, Strathcona cutive director of the Alberta’s Industrial such as ammonia and methanol, in future, according to Plamondon. AIH alone is capturing and storing
and Sturgeon) and two cities (Fort Heartland Association (AIHA), a non- AIH, according to Plamondon, are: the 2.6-mtpa(million tonnes per year) from This has been further enhanced in the
synergies associated with being part of “Alberta’s Industrial Heartland is three projects – Shell Canada’s Quest case of AIH by the provincial govern-
a well-established industrial cluster; the in the heart of the second largest oil CCS project for emissions from the ment making the region the fi rst and
region’s access to relatively low-cost and gas reserves in the world, with the bitumen upgrader at its Scotford Energy only Designated Industrial Zone (DIZ)
and abundant feedstock; inherent and region connected by pipelines to the oil and Chemicals Park, and emissions in Alberta – and Canada – in August
built advantages to decarbonize hydro- sands to the north and liquids-rich gas associated with the NWR Sturgeon 2022.
gen production; “tremendous” support plays such as Montney and Duvernay Refi nery and Nutrien’s Fort Saskatche-
from all three levels of government; to the west,” he said. wan fertilizer plant. “The DIZ adds to the competitive
and the proximity of Western Canada advantages in Alberta’s Industrial
to East Asia. Key reasons Western Canadian natu- CCS has also been sanctioned for Heartland by streamlining regula-
ral gas and NGLs have tended to sell two additional facilities in the AIH, Dow tory processes and reducing red tape
PORT OF
PRINCE Industrial cluster advantage at moderate to large discounts to North Canada’s Fort Saskatchewan Path2Zero through centralization, making the
ALBERTA’S
RUPERT INDUSTRIAL
HEARTLAND AIH has has had more than C$45-bn American markers such as Henry Hub expansion and retrofi t project and Shell’s region even more attractive as a global
in capital investment by more than 40 for almost two decades, and are likely Polaris project to capture and store emis- destination for world-class hydro-
companies since fi rst investment in to do so for the foreseeable future, in- sions from the refi nery and chemicals carbon processing investments, including
PORT OF the early 1950s, creating more than clude: rising production from Western plant at its Scotford complex. blue ammonia export projects, while
VANCOUVER
30,000 direct and indirect permanent Canada’s prolifi c unconventional gas achieving environmental outcomes,”
jobs in Alberta while providing petro- plays; the US Shale Gas Revolution In support of projects such as Plamondon said.
NEW
YORK leum products, petrochemicals, ferti- negating market share in the US and these, the Alberta Carbon Trunk Line
CHICAGO WINDSOR
lizers and power to provincial, North eastern Canada; and Canada being slow (ACTL), a common carrierwith an In October 2020, the province
American and global markets, accord- to develop a signifi cant LNG export ultimate capacity of 14.6-mtpa, came announced its Alberta Petrochemical
LOS ing to Plamondon. industry on its west coast. into operation in June 2020 (see Fig. 2). Incentives Program (APIP), which pays
ANGELES
up to 12% of a petrochemical project’s
BATON “We have added about C$15-bn in The cost advantage has not been as The Alberta government has also capital costs upon completion, while the
HOUSTON ROUGE consistent for Western Canadian crude awarded the AIH carbon hub status, cities and counties making up AIH have
investment over the last 10 years, are
targeting another C$25-bn by 2030 or so, oil as natural gas and NGLs but has with six additional CO pipeline and tended to provide tax breaks to busi-
2
and then continue at that pace of growth occasionally been large relative to North storage projects under consideration. nesses making signifi cant capital invest-
through to 2050,” Plamondon said. American marker West Texas Inter- This includes the recently sanctioned ments in their regions. APIP applies to
mediate (WTI) for extended periods in Atlas Carbon Storage Hub east of blue hydrogen/ammonia projects for
“As ourcluster continues to grow, it recent decades when growing regional Edmonton, a 50-50 partnership bet- domestic use and export as well.
continues to add competitive advantages production has exceeded pipeline take- ween ATCO EnPower and Shell,
to the region,” he said. “The outputs away capacity. serving the latter’s Polaris project. On the decarbonization front, the

192 Chemical Weekly December 10, 2024 Chemical Weekly December 10, 2024 193

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