Green energy developer TES Canada announced the launch of Projet Mauricie, a new C$4 billion (USD$2.9 billion) green hydrogen project in Quebec, Canada, aimed at supporting the decarbonization of hard-to-abate industries and contributing to the province’s climate goals.

Hydrogen is viewed as one of the key building blocks of the transition to a cleaner energy future, particularly for industrial and transport sectors with difficult to abate emissions, in which renewable energy solutions such as wind or solar are less practical. Around 94 million metric tonnes (MMT) of hydrogen are currently produced globally, although the vast majority is extracted using fossil fuels, which create pollutants and GHG emissions.

The development of clean hydrogen capacity, such as green hydrogen, which uses renewable energy to power the process to extract hydrogen from other materials, will require massive investments in areas including infrastructure, electrolysis, transport and storage.

According to TES, investments will focus on the construction of an electrolyzer and renewable energy production assets, with most of the project’s energy needs to be supplied by a 1 GW wind and solar farm, minimizing the need for the facility to rely on the Quebec grid. The facility is anticipated to produce 70,000 tons of green hydrogen by 2028, dedicated to Québec end users, with the aim of reducing annual CO2 emissions by 800,000 tonnes.

Éric Gauthier, General Manager at TES Canada, said:

“The Projet Mauricie once again positions our region at the heart of the transition towards a green economy. By leveraging the innovation and strength of our resources, TES Canada is contributing to the shift towards a new era of more sustainable energy, fostering the emergence of an economy that is greener and more resilient.”

Approximately a third of the green hydrogen produced at the facility will be dedicated to decarbonizing lang-haul production, according to the company, with the remainder to be used to produce electric renewable natural gas (e-NG), a drop-in solution for hard-to-abate industries.

Quebec has set climate targets including goals to reduce emissions by 37.5% by 2030 on a 1990 basis, and to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. According to TES, the new project will contribute to the achievement of 3% of the province’s 2030 target.

Steven Guilbeault, Canada’s Minister of the Environment and Climate Change, said:

”Clean energy represents a generational economic opportunity. This project in the Mauricie region will create hundreds of sustainable jobs while providing affordable, reliable and clean energy to the Québec power grid, as well as to the industry and transportation sectors. Projects like this one help to fight climate change and create a prosperous future.”