Montreal skyline (Source: Reuters/Shaun Best)

Montreal-based renewable energy firm TES CanadaH2 plans to invest CAN$4 billion ($2.9 billion) in the construction of a electrolyzer and renewable energy production park in the Canadian province of Quebec, the company said in a statement.

The Maurice Project, which the company said will make it possible to achieve 3% of Quebec’s greenhouse gas reduction targets by 2030, comes into service in 2028 and will produce 70,000 tons of clean hydrogen a year for use in the province.

A third of the hydrogen produced will be dedicated to decarbonizing heavy transport which accounts for nearly 10% of Quebec’s emissions, TES said.

The rest will be used to help decarbonize the heavy industrial sector and will create more than 1,000 jobs during the construction period and more than 200 permanent jobs once it is completed, it said.

The project will be mostly powered by TES-owned wind and solar farm which will have an installed capacity of 1 GW.

Masdar, Emirates Steel Arkan eye green steel

Renewable energy company Masdar and steel and building materials manufacturer Emirates Steel Arkan have partnered to develop a clean hydrogen project aimed at decarbonizing the United Arab Emirates’ steel sector, the companies said in a statement.

The pilot project will be located in the Emirates Steel Arkan production facilities in the Industrial City of Abu Dhabi and will be the first-of-a-kind in the Middle East and North African region.

Electrolyzers have already been delivered to the site and the project, which will use hydrogen to extract iron from iron ore rather than natural gas, is expected to be commissioned in early 2024.

“Masdar is very pleased to be partnering with Emirates Steel Arkan on this innovative project to decarbonize this vital sector. Steel is an essential commodity driving economic growth and creating jobs and this project presents huge potential for reducing emissions while increasing trade,” CEO of Masdar Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi said.

Ontario to invest in hydrogen for power

Canadian province Ontario will invest CAN$15 million in nine projects that will integrate hydrogen into its electricity grid, the regional government said in November.

The funding is part of Ontario’s Hydrogen Innovation Fund which will invest CAN$15 million over the next three years to kickstart and develop opportunities for hydrogen to be integrated into the province’s electricity system and will include hydrogen electricity storage.

The bulk of the funding will go to Atura Power, which will receive CAN$4.1 million to blend hydrogen with natural gas to produce electricity at the Halton Hills Generating Station.

The project will be the largest electricity-based, grid-connected, low-carbon hydrogen blending project in Canada’s history, the Ontario government said.

Clean hydrogen for the project will be made from electricity generated by excess water from Niagara Falls, it said.

Capital Power will receive funding for two projects to look at the feasibility of blending hydrogen will natural gas (between 5%-15% hydrogen) and producing and storing hydrogen, while HydroMéga Services will study upgrading an existing 27MW natural gas facility in include hydrogen.

York University will study retrofitting existing gas turbine generators to blend hydrogen and will model and analyze the potential of installing low-carbon hydrogen facilities across Ontario.

Western University will develop a demonstration site to test the environmental benefits of solar-generated and biogas-generated hydrogen, while Volta Energy will access how reversible solid oxide hydrogen cells technology can provide a pathway for hydrogen integration into the power grid.

The Transition Accelerator will research the economic readiness of the Hamilton region to become a hub for hydrogen investment.

German-Norwegian hydrogen value chain feasible - study

It is technically possible to establish a value chain for transporting large quantities of hydrogen from Norway to Germany, according to a study commissioned by the German and Norwegian governments and carried out by Norwegian state-owned company Gassco and the German energy agency DENA.

The study, commissioned in 2022, found the establishment of pipeline infrastructure for hydrogen transport from Norway to Germany must be based on a need to transport in the order of millions of tons of the gas per year and production of this scale, starting in 2030, could be realized under the assumption that there is a basis for commercial commitment, the study found.

The feasibility of the project is based on a number of main assumptions, the study noted.

These include the establishment of a market with the willingness and ability to pay for increased energy costs, the placement of a framework to enable long-term contracts on low-carbon hydrogen, producers can ensure the hydrogen meets all criteria required in support programs and crediting mechanisms, and the landfall point in Germany can be implemented quickly and jointly.

The project will also require that storage capacities in Germany are sufficient to enable a stable system, the technical uncertainties and development needs along the value chain can be solved and implemented as planned and all countries concerned grant accelerated approval of infrastructure, including the core grid in Germany.

Major customers in Germany see little technical hurdles in the use of hydrogen, but clear economic ones, which can be overcome by German state subsidies, the study found.

By Reuters Events Hydrogen