(Ottawa / Canada) – Montreal-based TES Canada H2 Inc. wants to invest four billion Canadian dollars (2,7 billion euros) in its project called “Mauricie”. The money will be used to build an electrolyser and install renewable energy power plants. Once operational in 2028, the project will produce 70.000 tonnes of green hydrogen, which will reportedly be destined exclusively for end-users in Quebec.
“Mauricie” project outline: This is how hydrogen is to be produced and used. © TES Canada H2 Inc.
About a third of the green hydrogen produced will be used to decarbonize long-distance transport, which is responsible for almost ten percent of Quebec's annual emissions. The remaining quantities would be used to produce synthetic methane (e-NG, Electric Natural Gas) for industries otherwise difficult to supply with low-carbon fuels.
The company explains that “Electric Natural Gas” is a sustainable alternative to fossil natural gas. It is produced by combining green hydrogen with recycled CO2 from industrial emissions, CO2 from direct air capture and biogenic CO2. The synthetic methane obtained in this way is easy to transport and store. E-NG is chemically identical to natural gas and can be easily integrated into the existing fuel mix. TES Canada wants to achieve an annual production capacity of 2030 terawatt hours by 15, which corresponds to 0,4 megatons of green hydrogen.
Location sketch of “Mauricie”. © Wikimedia CC 3.0
The majority of the energy requirement is covered by a wind and solar park with an installed capacity of one gigawatt. Over 1.000 jobs would be created during the construction period, which would later result in more than 200 permanent jobs.
According to the Reuters news agency, Canada wants to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 to 40 percent below 45 levels by 2005. However, this plan is flawed and the measures planned so far will miss the goal. This would mean that the country would not meet its obligations under the United Nations Paris Agreement on climate change.
Nine billion dollars for climate goals
The government's Emissions Reduction Plan (ERP), released in March, calls for investments of 9,1 billion Canadian dollars. It was the first time, Reuters said at the time, that Canada had presented “a comprehensive plan, rather than just a collection of measures, to meet its international obligations. Think tanks such as the Canadian Climate Institute described the plan as a “turning point” in Canadian climate policy, but demanded that the government of Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau take further steps.
The country is the world's fourth largest oil producer and the tenth largest carbon emitter. The oil and gas industry is the industry with the highest environmental impact, followed by the transport sector. Greenhouse gas emissions from the oil and gas sector have also increased over the past two decades, so a 42 percent reduction from current levels represents only a 31 percent reduction from 2005 levels, Reuters said.
On the TES website you can find more information about the “Mauricie"-Project.
Photos
TES Canada wants to produce synthetic methane (e-NG) from hydrogen in order to decarbonize industries that are difficult to supply with low-carbon fuels, such as shipping. © TES Canada H2 Inc.
