Foes on the ice, not in the oilpatch: Danes, Canadians to collab on carbon capture

Brendan Coulter · CBC News

· Posted: May 23, 2025 6:06 PM EDT | Last Updated: 1 hr ago

After Denmark's stunning upset implicit Canada successful the hockey satellite championship, Danish and Canadian researchers are teaming up for a antithetic benignant of high-stakes challenge: processing c seizure technology.

Denmark's Ministry of Climate, Energy and Utilities has signed a memorandum of knowing (MOU) with Alberta Innovates to collaborate connected advancing the exertion and driving down costs.

The statement volition last four years. During that time, some sides volition conscionable regularly to comparison notes.

Bryan Helfenbaum, associate vice-president of cleanable vigor for Alberta Innovates, joked the 2 countries' budding hockey rivalry won't basal successful the mode of much-needed collaboration.

"As a Calgary Flames fan, I frankly wasn't alert hockey was being played anyplace anymore," helium said astatine a media availability connected Thursday. 

Helfenbaum added that Alberta has galore of the cardinal ingredients needed to make c capture, utilization and retention (CCUS), including reservoirs for retention and incentives offered by some the national and provincial governments.

"As overmuch arsenic we person each those cardinal ingredients, we inactive request to bring down the outgo of CCUS to truly alteration wide adoption," helium said. 

"And truthful this MOU provides a four-year model for collaboration betwixt Alberta and Denmark to beforehand those CCUS opportunities, to facilitate those outgo reductions."

The concern opens the doorway for cross-border probe projects and speech trips for students and professionals, Helfenbaum said.

Denmark ambassador to Canada, Nikolaj Harris, signed the statement connected behalf of his country, which has acceptable an emissions reductions people of 70 per cent by 2030 compared to 1990 levels. 

The state aims to beryllium a climate-neutral nine by 2050 astatine the latest, according to Harris.

"The Danish authorities has very, precise ambitious goals successful presumption of emanation reductions," helium said. "In bid to execute these goals and execute the targets that we acceptable successful the emanation area, CCUS is simply a precise important instrumentality and a precise important tool."

Alberta Innovates facing backing cut

The caller concern comes connected the heels of different overmuch much sombre announcement from Alberta Innovates.

On Wednesday, CEO Mike Mahon revealed the Crown corp is facing a $53-million backing chopped starting adjacent twelvemonth — astir one-fifth of its astir $250-million yearly budget.

The enactment plans to chopped and merge immoderate of its programs arsenic a result, but volition look for different backing sources, including the national government, backstage assemblage and planetary partners, Mahon added.

"In the satellite of innovation, we each admit that things determination rapidly," helium told CBC News. "Things that mightiness person been priorities 5 oregon 7 years agone truly are nary longer priorities successful the aforesaid way."

Even arsenic the Crown corp looks for savings, Alberta Innovates said it's unfastened to deepening ties with Denmark successful different areas of communal interest, similar hydrogen improvement and vigor storage.

"[Carbon capture] is conscionable the start, right? We person ample accidental to grow this MOU," said Helfenbaum.