Welcome back to another week of the Carbon Corner!

Thanks for joining us to catch up on the latest carbon capture ventures and research!

Alberta and Pathway Alliance Prepare to Evaluate the Suitability of Cold Lake CCS Project

The Alberta Government and the Pathways Alliance (PA) signed the Carbon Sequestration Evaluation Agreement, which President of the PA Kendall Dilling considers to be "...another significant milestone on the road to finalizing plans for [the] proposed CCS project in northeastern Alberta and achieving [the] goal of reaching net zero emissions by 2050 to help Canada meet its climate commitments."

The proposed CCS hub will be located in Cold Lake and will connect to a transportation line gathering CO2 from 14 oil sand facilities in Fort McMurray, Christina Lake, and the Cold Lake region. The project is expected to reduce CO2 emissions from the member companies' oil sands operations by 22 million tonnes by 2030.

Now that the agreement is signed, the Pathways Alliance can evaluate proposed geological storage hubs. If completed, this will mark one of the world's most significant CCS projects.

Topsoe and Fidelis New Energy enters in to Carbon Neutral Hydrogen Technology Alliance

Topsoe and Fidelis New Energy have entered into a carbon-neutral hydrogen technology alliance. Topsoe's hydrogen process will now integrate Fidelis's FidelisH2™ technology to reduce lifecycle carbon emissions in hydrogen production. This will allow hydrogen to be produced from natural gas with a lifecycle carbon intensity of 0 kgCO2e/kgH2.

Expansion for this venture is expected by Topsoe, which will lead engagement for potential licensees to use the system at a global scale.

Henrik Rasmussen, Topsoe's Managing Director for The Americas, said, "This is an exciting partnership to lead the way to achieve net zero in 2050. I look forward to working with Fidelis in setting the bar high regarding transitional energy technologies. With this alliance, we can offer clients across all industrial sectors a proven and exceptional carbon-neutral hydrogen solution."

West Virginia Senate passed two bills to support development of hydrogen hubs

Last week, two bills were passed by the West Virginia Senate and will be presented to members of the House Judiciary Committee this coming Monday for approval. These bills have the potential of utilizing property owned by the Division of Natural Resources for underground emission storage for possible hydrogen hub projects.

The first bill, SB 161, would allow the DNR within the Department of Commerce to sell, lease, or dispose of property under its control. If the House Judiciary Committee Monday disapproves, the sale, lease, or disposal of property in state parks or forests without legislative approval would be prohibited.

The second bill, SB 162, would allow DNR to lease state-owned pore spaces beneath state forests, wildlife management areas, and other lands under DNR’s jurisdiction for use in carbon sequestration. This would operate on a sealed bidding process.

James Bailey, the cabinet secretary for the Department of Commerce, said that passage of the bill needs to take place before any potential projects can be discussed.

North Dakota Group Crosses State Lines to Deter Clean Electricity Bill

A North Dakota-based group, the Lignite Energy Council (LEC), is trying to weaken a Minnesota bill that would require the state's utilities to transition to 100% clean electricity by 2040. Through the LEC's group "Coalition for a Secure Energy Future," they are promoting coal carbon capture projects. The Minnesota clean energy proposal is not new. The bill was presented in years past at the Senate level but did not receive support.

Representatives, such as DFL Senator Nick Frentz, a bill author and chair of the Senate Energy, Utilities, Environment and Climate Committee, believe it will pass. The Senate committee hearing on January 23 will involve this bill, so we will see if any deterrence occurs.

PureWest Energy Gifts University of Wyoming School of Energy Resources $250,000 to Support Natural Gas Research

This week, PureWest Energy granted their support towards CCS research with a $250,000 contribution to go towards Wyoming School of Energy Resource's (SER) natural gas research. With these funds, the SER faculty, staff, and students will study methane detection and abatement, blue hydrogen, potential blockchain applications, and carbon capture, utilization, and storage.

"PureWest remains committed to producing natural gas in the most responsible way possible and, as the largest producer of natural gas in Wyoming, we look forward to the valuable insight and tangible results this collaboration will yield," PureWest CEO Chris Valdez says. "Ensuring our practices and policies are safe and environmentally responsible is our utmost priority, and PureWest is dedicated to advancing meaningful energy research."

That's all we have this week! Check us out next week for more!

Schaper Energy Consulting is a professional engineering firm offering carbon strategy services to CCS site developers. Check out some examples of our projects here: https://schaperintl.com/carbon-strategies/

If you have questions or comments, please get in touch with us at info@schaperintl.com.

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