Premier Danielle Smith Allocates $175 Million for Industrial Carbon Capture and Deep Geothermal Hubs

CALGARY — Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and Minister of Energy and Minerals Brian Jean announced on Monday the distribution of $175 million in provincial capital grants through the Technology Innovation and Emissions Reduction (TIER) fund to construct two large-scale industrial carbon capture and storage (CCS) hubs and deploy commercial deep-well closed-loop geothermal power facilities in Grande Prairie and Medicine Hat.

The investment leverages Alberta's world-class subsurface geological formations, repurposing depleted oil and gas well corridors and specialized drilling labor to sequester over 3 million tonnes of industrial CO2 annually while extracting continuous, 24/7 zero-emission geothermal electricity.

Leading the Global Industrial Decarbonization Economy Alberta holds some of the thickest and most impermeable saline aquifer caprocks in the world, making the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin the optimal global destination for commercial carbon management infrastructure.

"Alberta has the skilled energy workers, the engineering ingenuity, and the unique geology to lead the world in carbon capture technology and clean energy development," Premier Danielle Smith said during an announcement at the Global Energy Show in Calgary. "This $175 million investment turns our energy expertise into an environmental and economic advantage, lowering industrial emissions, attracting multi-billion-dollar manufacturing capital, and unlocking firm clean geothermal power for our growing grid."

Major Project Allocations Key funding recipients include:

• Grande Prairie Carbon Sequestration Hub: $85 million to construct 60 kilometers of CO2 trunkline and deep-well injection facilities serving regional pulp mills and natural gas processing plants.
• Medicine Hat Deep Geothermal Baseload Complex: $55 million for a 40-megawatt closed-loop deep-well geothermal generation plant.
• Industrial Cement Carbon Capture Demonstration: $35 million for an advanced post-combustion amine capture system at an Edmonton cement manufacturing plant.

Energy industry executives, municipal leaders, and technical trade unions commended the provincial funding, highlighting that carbon capture infrastructure ensures Alberta's resource sector remains competitive under international trade standards.