Aurora Hydrogen Scales-Up Low-Carbon Hydrogen Production with $4M Funding

Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) granted $3 million and the NGIF Accelerator granted over $1 million to upscale Aurora Hydrogen’s low-carbon hydrogen production and enhance its technology-readiness level for pilot projects and commercialization.

NRCan’s funding arrives through its Energy Innovation program, enabling Aurora Hydrogen to scale and pilot its methane pyrolysis technology—it converts methane to hydrogen and solid carbon without emissions or water use. Its methane pyrolysis solution produces clean hydrogen at point-of-use and eliminates hydrogen transportation or CO₂ storage requirements. Aurora Hydrogen’s method is suited for industrial decarbonization and replaces high-emission chemical fuels.

“This announcement of $3 million in federal funding for Aurora Hydrogen is part of a series of steps taken by the Government of Canada to support good jobs and promote sustainable growth,” said Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources. “These steps include the launch of the Hydrogen Strategy for Canada Progress Report, Canada’s Critical Minerals Strategy, and Canada’s founding of the Sustainable Critical Minerals Alliance last fall. We will continue to work with all partners to ensure Canada remains a global supplier of choice for clean energy in a net-zero world.”

Aurora Hydrogen won $918,000 from the NGIF Accelerator Global Cleantech Challenge, intended to mitigate the impact of natural gas end-use in Canada. The challenge collaborates with Emissions Reduction Alberta, Foresight Canada, and Halliburton Labs. The NGIF Accelerator Industry Grants program awarded an additional $150,000 for Aurora Hydrogen’s technology development.

Clean hydrogen plant using methane pyrolysis; Image Credits: Aurora Hydrogen

“I am excited to support Aurora Hydrogen's efforts to scale hydrogen production through their methane pyrolysis technology,” said John Adams, President and CEO, NGIF Accelerator. “This funding underscores our commitment to accelerating clean technology solutions that reduce global emissions. Our Industry Grants program and its focus on de-risking clean technologies through field trials and pilots are part of NGIF’s integrated model of industry validation, customer creation, and technology commercialization.”

In April 2024, Aurora Hydrogen leveraged its methane pyrolysis method to support the Open Hydrogen Initiative’s (OHI) open-source toolkit designed to measure the carbon-intensity of hydrogen. It provided input on the toolkit to ensure that all viable production methods are factored into the carbon coproduct. The company is a technical sponsor of OHI—a consortium led by GTI Energy, S&P Global Commodity Insights, and the National Energy Technology Laboratory.

The NGIF Accelerator’s Emissions Testing Center (ETC) helps cleantech startups develop innovations to tackle methane emissions. The program—operated by the not-for-profit arm of NGIF Capital Corp.—offers dedicated spaces via host sites for these companies to develop, test, and validate their solutions. The four-stage program includes access to the entire gas value chain, including a live gas operations environment.

Through the ETC program, Qube Technologies tested its fixed sensor that continuously, versus intermittently, monitors methane emissions. Since testing at the Tourmaline Oil/Perpetual Energy West Wolf Lake Plant—an ETC program host site—it has deployed over 4,000 sensors at over 1,000 sites, including Canadian operators such as Arc Resources, Enhance Energy, and Ember Resources.