Lehigh Cement and Enbridge Agree to Advance a CO2 storage solution in Alberta

Lehigh Cement, a division of Lehigh Hanson Materials Limited (Lehigh) and Enbridge Inc. (Enbridge) (TSX: ENB) (NYSE: ENB) are pleased to announce a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on a carbon solution for Lehigh’s cement manufacturing facility in Edmonton, Alberta.

Lehigh is developing North America’s first full-scale carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) solution for the cement industry at its Edmonton plant, with the goal of capturing approximately 780,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO₂) annually. Captured emissions would be transported via pipeline and permanently sequestered by Enbridge. Subject to the award of carbon sequestration rights and regulatory approvals, the project could be in service as early as 2025.

With the support of Lehigh and Capital Power Corporation (Capital Power) with their local facilities, Enbridge will be applying to develop an open access carbon hub in the Wabamun area, west of Edmonton, Alberta, through the Government of Alberta’s Request for Full Project Proposals process.

Combined, the emissions from Capital Power and Lehigh’s planned carbon capture projects represent an opportunity to avoid nearly 4 million tonnes of atmospheric CO₂ emissions. Once built, the Open Access Wabamun Carbon Hub will be among the largest integrated CCUS projects in the world.

“At Lehigh Hanson, we believe that carbon capture and storage technology will play a key role in transforming the cement industry and building a more sustainable future,” said Joerg Nixdorf, President of Lehigh Hanson’s Canada Region. “We are excited about taking the next steps in our ambitious journey to achieving carbon neutrality across the cement and concrete value chain.

“Having a carbon hub solution in place by 2025 is essential for the successful implementation of the CCUS project at our Edmonton cement plant,” Nixdorf added.

“Lehigh Cement’s pioneering CCUS project is an exciting addition to our proposed Open Access Wabamun Carbon Hub, which is poised to support the decarbonization of multiple industries, including power generation, oil and gas, and now cement,” said Colin Gruending, Enbridge Executive Vice President and President, Liquids Pipelines. “This collaboration demonstrates our focus on local, cost-effective, customer-focused carbon transportation and storage solutions that drive scale and competitiveness while minimizing infrastructure footprint to protect land, water and the environment.”

“We applaud Lehigh and Enbridge in advancing plans for definitive climate action in Canada with this full chain CCUS initiative and we are proud to be a part of the carbon capture development at Lehigh’s Edmonton cement plant,” said Mark Demchuk, National Director, Strategy & Stakeholder Relations at the International CCS Knowledge Centre. “Collaborative CCUS solutions like this are a vital enabler of large-scale emissions reductions, across multiple industries, including cement production.”

“The Cement Association of Canada (CAC) welcomes the announcement of an MOU between Lehigh Hanson and Enbridge for Lehigh’s Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage project in Edmonton, Alberta. This is another positive step forward in the development of Lehigh Hanson’s CCUS project, supporting an end-to-end solution for carbon capture and permanent storage,” said Michael McSweeney, CAC President/CEO. “These types of partnerships on critical technologies like CCUS are how we will win the fight against climate change and demonstrate to Canadians and the world how our hard to abate industry will reach its net-zero ambition. We are so pleased to see this CCUS project moving forward.”