Dow has announced big plans for their Fort Saskatchewan facility.
 
On Wednesday (Oct.6), the company stated they want to build the world's first net-zero carbon emissions ethylene and derivatives complex at the site.
 
The project will more than triple Dow's ethylene and polyethylene capacity from its Fort Saskatchewan site while retrofitting the site's existing assets to net-zero carbon emissions.
 
"Today's announcement from Dow is fantastic news for Alberta's economy. If this project proceeds, it could represent one of the largest job-creating investments in Alberta in over a decade," said Premier Jason Kenney. "By choosing Alberta to host the world's first net-zero carbon emissions ethylene plant, Dow is highlighting our growing global leadership in emissions-reducing technology like carbon capture utilization and storage, and Alberta's open for business policies."
 
The production process at Fort Saskatchewan will convert cracker off-gas into hydrogen as a clean fuel to be used in the production process, and carbon dioxide that would be captured onsite to be transported and stored by adjacent third-party CO2 infrastructure. The products produced at the site will be used across the globe to help deliver low to zero-carbon emissions solutions.
 
According to Dow, they selected the Fort Saskatchewan site as the region offers a highly competitive energy and feedstocks position and access to available third-party CO2 infrastructure.
 
"This is a big step forward in achieving the ambitious goals of Alberta's Natural Gas Strategy – to grow Alberta's petrochemical sector by more than $30-billion by 2030, resulting in more than 90,000 direct and indirect jobs over the construction and operation periods of new facilities and more than $10-billion in revenue for the Government of Alberta from corporate and personal income taxes," added Kenney.
 
Dow has not yet released a price tag for the project.
 
The investment is still subject to approval by Dow's board of directors and various regulatory agencies.