Carbon capture and sequestration | Important acceptability test for Deep Sky

Deep Sky, which has the goal of eliminating billions of tons of atmospheric carbon, will soon know if Quebec’s subsoil is suitable for landfilling. The young Montreal startup is finalizing its preparations to go and see what is happening underground in Bécancour, where a social acceptability test awaits.

The last year was especially marked by the completion of a round of financing of 75 million – to which Investissement Québec, the financial arm of the Quebec state, contributed. Field work is now set to begin at Deep Sky. The first step: carry out seismic imaging in Centre-du-Québec.

“It doesn’t destroy anything and we don’t cut down any trees,” says its co-founder and chairman of the board of directors, Frédéric Lalonde, who also co-founded the travel application. Hopper. But we still have to go and explain what it is. We’re going door to door so people understand. We don’t see this often in Quebec. »

In principle, the readings should be carried out during the month of May. This phase should last a few weeks and overlap the month of June. The Bécancour industrial park was targeted by Deep Sky, among others. To achieve this, we will use a truck which will hit the ground several times using very heavy weights, which can sometimes give the impression of a seismic shock in addition to being noisy. It was the Géostack firm that was mandated by Mr. Lalonde’s company.

The objective: to create a “three-dimensional model of the basement,” says Mr. Lalonde. This will determine the size of the “reservoirs” that could accommodate CO₂ as well as the waterproofing of the rock.

Deep Sky also analyzes locations in British Columbia, Alberta and Manitoba. The company wants to deploy the best carbon capture technologies in the air and ocean before sequestering it underground. Remove CO₂ of the atmosphere is part of the equation, but you also have to know where to store it, recalls Mr. Lalonde.

Proofs to be made

The company would like to inject the gas into saline aquifers – underground pockets where salty water is found. At high pressure and in contact with minerals and heat, the carbon should in principle remain trapped underground forever. Mr. Lalonde is aware that this technology still needs to prove itself, particularly in terms of its ability to be deployed on a large scale as well as its financial viability.

There will also be work to be done on the ground in Bécancour. Deep Sky says it has already met with elected officials and local authorities in the region. If she says she is “rather favorable” to the young growth’s aims in terms of decarbonization, the mayor of the municipality, Lucie Allard, is categorical: “Social acceptability is critical. »

“The company must have a concrete plan to meet the owners of land where it wishes to carry out surveys, as well as the population,” explains M^me Allard.

Same story with the Bécancour Industrial and Port Park Company (SPIBP). Its president and CEO, Donald Olivier, finds the project interesting, but also believes that the ball is in Deep Sky’s court.

“It is the company that must obtain authorization from each of the owners of land where it wishes to carry out tests,” says Mr. Olivier. This is no small task. We are listening to the project, but if we have choices to make, it is certain that we will opt for what has already been launched with the battery sector. »

Last December, in a file on carbon capture and sequestration, The Press had cited the opinion of experts who considered that this mechanism should be part of the decarbonization tools, in particular to help heavy industry (aluminum smelters, steelworks, etc.) where it is difficult to electrify everything. They warned, however, that this is not a magic solution to resolve the climate impasse. Mr. Lalonde is well aware of this.