Air Products To Build World’s Largest Hydrogen Network In Edmonton

Aurum Energy Park will be home to a $1.3-billion, net-zero hydrogen network that will become operational in 2024.

By the BF Staff
From the July/August 2021 Issue

The Edmonton region in Alberta—the heart of Canada’s shale-oil industry—will soon become a leader in the emerging renewable energy sector of hydrogen power.

Air Products is building the world’s largest net-zero hydrogen network at the Aurum Energy Park in northeast Edmonton. The company said the $1.3 billion facility, expected to be operational in 2024, will make Edmonton the center of western Canada’s hydrogen economy and set the stage for Air Products to operate the most competitive and lowest-carbon-intensity hydrogen network in the world.

“By being a first mover and investing in this innovative landmark project, we are paving the way for hydrogen from Edmonton to meet industrial and transportation needs throughout western Canada,” said Air Products CEO Seifi Ghasemi.

Edmonton
Air Products is building the world’s largest net-zero hydrogen network at Aurum Energy Park in Edmonton. The facility will produce liquid hydrogen for use as an emission-free fuel for hydrogen-powered trucks. (Photo: erh2.ca)

The facility will produce liquid hydrogen for use as an emission-free transportation fuel. The company said its technology will capture and store 95 percent of the carbon produced underground, reducing emissions to a level “close to zero,” which will help Canada reach its goal of carbon neutrality by 2050. Hydrogen-fueled electricity will offset the remaining five percent of emissions.

The project is being supported by the Government of Canada, the Government of Alberta and the City of Edmonton. In addition to 2,500 construction jobs, the project is expected to generate substantial local tax revenue.

Edmonton Global CEO Malcolm Bruce said the project would serve as an anchor around which a cluster can be built, attracting global attention and investment. “The Edmonton Metropolitan Region has the potential to attract hundreds of billions of immediate and spin-off benefits and become a global center for the hydrogen economy,” he said.

Edmonton mayor Don Iveson called it a “key milestone for Edmonton’s low-carbon future” and a “win for our community” that will provide “spin-off benefits for decades to come.”

The new facility will be connected to Air Products’ existing network. The company already operates three hydrogen production facilities and a 55-km hydrogen pipeline in Alberta.

The new facility will also benefit neighboring Strathcona County, which projects that the hydrogen industry will create up to 350,000 jobs in the region, lowering unemployment and stimulating small business growth.

On December 11, 2020, the Government of Canada announced that it will be investing $3 billion over five years through the Strategic Investment Fund’s new Net Zero Accelerator fund to rapidly expedite decarbonization projects with large emitters, scale-up clean technology and accelerate Canada’s industrial transformation across all sectors. Targeted environmental questions on SIF’s Statement of Interest (SOI) will be used to formulate a preliminary assessment of your project’s environmental impact and GHG abatement.

The SOI will require applicants to provide details on efforts to minimize the environmental footprint of a company; metrics, targets and timeframes for clean technology development or adoption project activities that will result in environmental benefits and GHG reductions; and project linkages to Government environmental priorities, including supporting Canada’s transition towards a low carbon economy.

ALECTRA PICKS BRAMPTON FOR SUSTAINABLE OPS CENTER

Alectra recently announced its plan to build a new sustainable operations center located at 200 Kennedy Road South in Brampton, bringing more than 400 Alectra employees serving Brampton and Mississauga to a new location.

In bringing 400 employees to the area—two and a half times the number of jobs at its current site—Alectra will help strengthen Brampton’s 55 retail and 78 food businesses within a kilometer of the new ops center, supporting the city’s local economic recovery and growth in the future.

Serving more than one million homes and businesses in Ontario’s Greater Golden Horseshoe area, Alectra Utilities is now the largest municipally-owned electric utility in Canada, based on the total number of customers served. They contribute to the economic growth and vibrancy of the 17 communities they serve by investing in essential energy infrastructure, delivering a safe and reliable supply of electricity and providing innovative energy solutions.

In line with the City’s commitment to sustainability, the new facility will be LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified to Gold Standard. Some of the LEED-certified building features will include:

  • An upgraded dedicated outdoor air system (DOAS), reducing GHG emissions by approximately 43 percent beyond LEED Gold standards
  • 500 KW in rooftop solar power generation (more than 800 MW/year)
  • More than 30 electric vehicle charging stations to be installed and used by Alectra fleet vehicles, employees and the general public.

The project is planned to be completed by August 2023.

“Brampton is a Green City and, together with our partners, we are dedicated to building an increasingly sustainable community and increasing our resilience to climate change,” said Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown. “Brampton is on a journey to reduce greenhouse gas emissions generated in the city by 80 percent by 2050.”

“As a sustainable company, Alectra is committed to reducing our environmental footprint by implementing innovative energy solutions. This new building will not only improve our service levels for customers across the Region of Peel, it will also help us along our journey to become Net-Zero by 2050,” said James Macumber, Vice President, Supply Chain, Alectra Utilities.

As one of the fastest-growing cities in Canada, Brampton is home to more than 700,000 people and 75,000 businesses. Learn more at www.brampton.ca.

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