Industrial decarbonization in Quebec: Does Bill 17 actually change the game?

Reducing our GHG emissions is essential. But it won't be enough.

That's the message delivered this week by Frédéric Lalonde (Hopper), Sophie Forest (Brightspark) and Alain Lemieux (Zone d'innovation de la Vallée de la transition énergétique) in an opinion piece published in La Presse, co-signed by the CEOs of Deep Sky, Svante and Skyrenu, the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal, BMO, and National Bank.

When that many economic players align on the same conclusion, it signals an urgent need for clarity. At ATIS Énergie, we share this view, and it connects directly to what we're seeing on the ground with our industrial clients across Quebec.

The problem electrification alone won't solve

Even in a scenario where every reduction effort is fully deployed, Quebec will still emit roughly 13 million tonnes of CO₂ per year by 2045–2050, according to the Comité consultatif sur les changements climatiques.

These emissions won't stem from a lack of ambition. They'll come from sectors where full industrial decarbonization is technically out of reach in the near to medium term: heavy industry (cement plants, aluminum smelters), agriculture and aviation.

The analogy used in La Presse is apt: when there's a flood, you have to shut off the water supply and pump out what's already there. Cutting emissions is shutting off the supply. But those 13 million residual tonnes are already on the floor.

What Bill 17 means for thermal decarbonization strategy

Until now, carbon capture and storage (CCS) in Quebec lacked a clear regulatory framework. Without defined rules in place, there was no way to move from exploratory projects to infrastructure deployed at industrial scale.

Without that framework, Quebec was also missing out on a major financial lever: the Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) Investment Tax Credit (ITC), which covers between 37.5% and 60% of eligible investments, but only in provinces with the required regulatory structure in place.

Bill 17 closes that gap. It lays the groundwork for a permanent geological CO₂ storage framework: underground reservoir exploration, rigorous environmental oversight and long-term monitoring mechanisms.

This isn't a silver bullet. It's a piece Quebec could no longer afford to leave out of its climate toolkit.

Industrial thermal management: the essential starting point

At ATIS Énergie, we've been supporting Quebec industrial organizations through their decarbonization plans for several years. The debate reignited in La Presse confirms what we're seeing on the ground. That an effective industrial decarbonization strategy rests on three complementary levels.

1. Reduce at the source An industrial energy audit is always the first step. It identifies thermal losses, overconsumption and process optimization opportunities, often with fast payback periods. This is where the majority of short-term gains are within reach.

2. Optimize systems Industrial heat recovery, whether from condensers, compressors or hot effluents, is one of the most underutilized levers in Quebec manufacturing facilities. Combined with industrial process electrification and rigorous industrial energy engineering, it structurally reduces the thermal load that needs to be offset.

3. Eliminate residual emissions Point-source capture, direct air capture (DAC), permanent geological storage. For sectors that can't yet decarbonize any other way, this is a necessity, not an option.

Something else we consistently observe is that carbon capture infrastructure is energy-intensive. It requires facilities that are already optimized from a thermal management standpoint, properly sized electrical capacity and rigorous mechanical integration. An energy-inefficient plant will struggle to absorb a CCS system and will see operating costs spiral.

That's why industrial thermal management isn't in competition with carbon capture. It's the condition for its success.

Quebec has the assets. It was missing the framework.

Quebec holds real competitive advantages in this transition:

• Clean, abundant hydroelectricity, essential for ensuring that process electrification and carbon capture deliver a net climate benefit

• Favourable geological potential for underground CO₂ storage

• A growing technology ecosystem: Deep Sky, Svante, Skyrenu

• Access to federal tax credits, contingent on having a robust regulatory framework in place

The global carbon removal market is growing fast, driven by European and North American demand for permanent, verifiable solutions. Jurisdictions that offer a stable framework will attract investment, and Quebec can be one of them.

What this means for industrial companies

The adoption of Bill 17 sends a clear signal: Quebec's industrial decarbonization strategy is evolving. It's no longer betting solely on emission reductions. It now integrates permanent carbon removal as a complementary lever.

For industrial companies, the question is no longer just "how do we reduce our GHG emissions on the plant floor?" It's "how do we build a complete company-wide decarbonization plan: reduction, thermal optimization, elimination?"

At ATIS Énergie, we support our clients through industrial energy audits, thermal process optimization, industrial heat recovery and high-performance mechanical system integration. This upstream work is a prerequisite for any deep industrial thermal decarbonization strategy.

Carbon neutrality won't be achieved through a single solution. It will be achieved through the right combination of levers and the rigour with which they're implemented.

Is your company dealing with hard-to-reduce residual emissions? Contact our team to explore the first steps of an industrial decarbonization plan tailored to your processes.