20 MW electrolyzer plant planned in Quebec

Gazifère, an Enbridge subsidiary, and Evolugen, the Canadian operations arm of Brookfield Renewable, plans to build and operate one of Canada’s largest green hydrogen injection projects in Quebec.

The approximately $90-million project will see a 20-megawatt (MW) electrolyzer plant built in the city of Gatineau, adjacent to Evolugen’s hydroelectric facilities. Green hydrogen produced via electrolysis will be injected into Gazifère’s natural gas distribution network via a new 15-kilometre pipeline connecting the plant to the Gazifère grid.

Electrolysis is used to produce hydrogen, which can be used directly or converted to syngas, methane or liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). The resulting gases can either be used as chemical feedstocks, burned to produce heat or converted back into electricity using gas turbines and gas engines. In addition, power-to-gas opens the door to long-term energy storage of clean electricity for use in all other energy consumption sectors. Hydrogen produced from purely renewable sources is known as green hydrogen.

The plant is expected to produce about 425,000 gigajoules (GJ) of green hydrogen to be injected into the Gazifère network – the first project of its kind in Canada. The companies anticipate the project will remove about 15,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions each year.

Gazifère is one of two natural gas distributors in Quebec. Gazifère began supplying renewable natural gas (RNG) in 2020, and intends to become the first natural gas distributor on the continent to offer an all-green, fully renewable energy portfolio by 2050.

Turbomachinery International Magazine published a story in late 2020 on hydrogen fuel called, "What is Power-to-X?"