An envisioned hub for commercial-scale production of green hydrogen and ammonia powered by new wind energy projects and other renewables is moving forward in Canada’s Atlantic provinces, with selected developers already awarding early-stage contracts as they seek government approvals and investments.
The push follows a 2022 hydrogen trade pact by the country with Germany, and a later one with the European Union, to push decarbonization and export of green ammonia, which is produced by adding nitrogen to the hydrogen. In late July, the two nations committed more than $440 million to support their projected export "corridor," but opponents have raised questions about use of the region's clean energy resources to produce hydrogen for export.
“Canada is a reliable supplier of clean energy for our global allies,” said Jonathan Wilkinson, its minister for energy and natural resources, adding that the agreement "will ensure Germany has access to Canadian clean hydrogen to power its economy, in turn creating jobs and driving economic growth ... in Atlantic Canada.”
Efforts to develop large-scale green hydrogen projects are underway in Nova Scotia, which last year issued environmental approvals to province-based developer EverWind Fuels Corp. for an estimated $4.45-billion production plant at a former fuel storage facility; and to Bear Head Energy for a production, storage and loading facility at a site where it had planned to build a liquefied natural gas plant. The latter firm said province officials okayed it to build a 2-GW elecytolyzer, which could produce 350,000 metric tons of hydrogen and 2 million metric tons ammonia per year. Nova Scotia also said it has a goal to offer leases for 5 GW of offshore wind by 2030, with the first call for bids planned in 2025
Newfoundland and Labrador also selected four firms to develop multi-phased wind-to-hydrogen export projects on up to 5.1 million square kilometers owned by the province and federal government. They include EverWind, as well as developers Abraxas Power Corp., Toqlukuti’k Wind and Hydrogen and World Energy GH2.
Moving to Next Stage
Over the next three years, developer EverWind said it plans to build and operate three onshore wind farms in the province, along with a green ammonia that it aims to produce 240,000 metric tons per year to start and up to 1 million metric tons per year in its second phase, as well as an upgraded ice-free deep-water port in Point Tupper, N.S.
The province in July approved the largest wind farm—a 49-turbine, 340-MW facility—with approvals of the others last year. The firm said that project and another represent a "billion-dollar investment." All are set to operate by late 2025, with ammonia production in 2026, said EverWind. Several First Nations also are equity partners in the project, but the developer has not yet announced its final investment decision.
EverWind also has begun negotiations with what it said are “strategic partners to finalize offtake agreements by the end of 2024,” but company officials declined to confirm they include German energy companies Uniper SE and E.ON SE. The two firms had agreed in 2022 to take a total of 1 million tons annually of the green ammonia.
U.S.-based Black & Veatch also has completed front-end engineering and design for phase one of the Point Tupper project, with construction also by the firm that could begin late this year, said EverWind. It added that the early project design, involving about 110,000 hours of engineering, "represents the first announced completion of a FEED for a large-scale green hydrogen and green ammonia production facility in North America.”
The project's first phase will use "cutting-edge" electrolyzers and ammonia synthesis technology to convert water from nearby "man-made" Landrie Lake and "primarily" from the wind farms to produce green ammonia, said Black & Veatch. The facility design also makes it "one of the most advanced hydrogen and ammonia projects in North America and globally," said the engineer's president and CEO Laszlo von Lazar.
The engineer also is involved in the planned EverWind ammonia plant in Newfoundland, what the developer said would be a larger facility on the Burin Peninsula estimated to cost nearly $6 billion but with no production capacity details disclosed. A wind project up to 3 GW that could include offshore turbines also is planned. “Engineering hours that have gone into our Point Tupper project ... have been adjusted to reflect the massive size and scale of our project on the Burin Peninsula,” said Trent Vichie, CEO of EverWind.
Growing Pains
Related to planned onshore wind turbines in Nova Scotia, their growth in height now requires larger and heavier foundations, said Liam Duffy, construction general manager for Montreal builder Renewable Energy Systems Canada Inc.. "A foundation can require as much as 75 tons of steel and 700 cubic meters of concrete at a depth of 4 meters into the ground," he said. But substantial hard rock close to the surface at the site will "require a rock anchor foundation to be built," he noted. He said the largest of the wind projects will require 650 workers, adding that EverWind is in negotiations with local unions.
EverWind said it seeks to develop a pipeline of 15GW of renewables across Atlantic Canada and anticipates "making use of various investment tax credits.”
The Canadian government announced in June final details in implementing the long-awaited enactment of a federal tax credit of 15% to 40% of the capital cost of building hydrogen plants, with other incentives also for clean technology manufacturing and carbon capture and storage. The credit program ends in 2035.
Separately, contractor McDermott International announced last month award of an "early contractor involvement" contract from Abraxas Power for its commercial-scale Newfoundland hydrogen plant that would include an estimated 3.5-GW wind farm and 150-MW solar facility. The plant would produce 165 kilotons per year of hydrogen and 5,000 metric tons per day of ammonia. Under the contract, with no financial terms disclosed, McDermott work will include front-end design; engineering, procurement and construction planning; and cost estimating for project components.
Green hydrogen opponents raised concerns at one recent community hearing in Nova Scotia related to shipping clean energy resources overseas when more than half of province grid power now comes from fossil fuel, and about other impacts. Project officials predicted that about 20% to 30% of plant wind power would be returned to the grid and that more local markets would develop for use of hydrogen and ammonia produced.
Canada announced its federal hydrogen strategy in 2020, with a focus on low-carbon hydrogen to meet a net-zero emissions goal by 2050 and 80 hydrogen production projects announced since then. Energy research firm Rystad Energy said recently that by 2030, Canada could produce nearly 1.6 million metric tons of green hydrogen. But the International Energy Agency cautioned in its 2024 renewables market report this year that “of [green hydrogen] projects today in the pipeline, only 7% will come on line before 2030.”
