Alberta’s cleantech sector took a major step forward as Project Tamarack, developed by True North Carbon, a subsidiary of CarbonCapture Inc., achieved its first carbon-capture milestone. Located at the Deep Sky Alpha facility in Innisfail, Project Tamarack represents Canada’s largest single-technology direct-air capture (DAC) deployment, and targets an annual capture capacity of 2,000 tonnes of CO2 once fully operational. Originally planned for Arizona, the project was relocated to Alberta last month.

More DAC traction in the province can be seen as GE Vernova and Deep Sky are partnering to deploy GE Vernova’s pioneering DAC technology at the Deep Sky Alpha facility. The technology, which is scheduled to begin operations by late 2026, aims to capture up to 1,500 tonnes of carbon per year.

DAC technology is a form of CO2 removal that takes CO2 from the atmosphere by drawing the air into separating equipment. CarbonCapture’s DAC systems use solid sorbents that soak up atmospheric CO2 when cooled and release it when heated. The CO2 captured can be permanently stored underground or used to make sustainable fuels, low-carbon concrete, carbon black, or other valuable industry products.

Federal and provincial policies have positioned us as a supportive jurisdiction for carbon-capture and removal projects. At the federal level, there are refundable investment tax credits including up to 60% of eligible capex for DAC equipment. While Alberta launched the Alberta Carbon Capture Incentive Program (ACCIP) offering a 12% grant on eligible capital costs for projects located in the province.

These latest announcements will help offset some of the drag from the trade war, including: Dow’s decision to delay construction on its $11.6 billion Path2Zero petrochemical facility amid challenging macroeconomic conditions and market uncertainty. The project, envisioned to produce the world’s first net-zero ethylene cracker and derivatives site, is the largest capital project underway in the province. Last month, Dow’s CEO signaled that construction could now be pushed out another one to two years.

While the delay to Dow’s Path2Zero project introduces some downside risk to our September investment forecast for non-oil and gas extraction investment in Alberta (see chart below),it is a positive sign that other projects like Project Tamarack are now proceeding.

Answer to the previous trivia question: There have been 42 different federal Finance Ministers since Confederation (not including those who were only acting).

Today’s trivia question: What percentage of the air we breathe in is carbon dioxide?