Can US Tech Cut the Cost of Carbon Capture in Canada?

Mantel Capture launches SAGD carbon capture study in Alberta, targeting 60,000 tonnes of CO2 per year at half the cost of conventional systems

28 Apr 2026

A Boston-based carbon capture company has entered Alberta's oil sands sector, launching a commercial-scale engineering study with a Canadian energy producer that, if successful, could significantly reduce the cost of industrial emissions abatement. Mantel Capture announced the front-end engineering design study in December 2025, with backing from Alberta Innovates, a provincial research agency.

The project targets the removal of 60,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year. Mantel's core technology relies on molten borate chemistry, which the company says generates steam during the capture process rather than consuming it -- producing roughly 150,000 tonnes of high-pressure steam annually that an oil sands partner can feed directly into existing steam-assisted gravity drainage operations. That byproduct, analysts said, is central to the company's argument that its approach can cut capture costs by roughly half compared with conventional systems.

The initiative is separate from the Oil Sands Pathways Alliance's $16.5-billion carbon capture network, suggesting that investment in the sector's emissions infrastructure is widening beyond the major industry consortium. Co-founder Cameron Halliday cited Alberta's carbon pricing framework, available tax incentives, and technical workforce as factors drawing the company north. Mantel already operates a smaller demonstration project at a pulp and paper facility in Quebec, though the Alberta study represents its first engagement with oil and gas at commercial scale.

Should the engineering study confirm viability, company statements indicate project execution would follow roughly two years after a final investment decision. The initiative arrives as federal and provincial policy increasingly rewards measurable emissions progress, and as modular, cost-competitive capture solutions attract renewed attention across Canada's energy sector. How well the technology performs at scale could inform investment decisions well beyond Alberta.