Another milestone for Canada’s green hydrogen ambitions

Above: Wind farm locations for phase 1 of Project Nujio’qonik. Phase 2 wind farm location TBD

The agreement provides for a CA$128 million (US$95 million) credit facility to support the development of the project through to the close of its long-term financing.

Project Nujio’qonik, being advanced by a consortium of partners, is proposing what it describes as a “cost effective” wind-power-to-green-hydrogen/ammonia production facility powered by more than 3 GW of onshore wind generation capacity located in “one of the world’s best wind resource regions.”

The credit facility “will help finance the build out of clean power generation and clean hydrogen production” and “demonstrates Canada’s continuing material support of the Canada–Germany Hydrogen Alliance”, signed between the two countries at the Project Nujio’qonik site in Stephenville, NL, in August 2022. This envisages large scale green hydrogen/ammonia production and export to “Germany, Europe and around the world, as well as for domestic consumption.”

Once complete, Project Nujio’qonik is expected to produce about 210 000 tonnes of green hydrogen per year (1.2 million tonnes per year of green ammonia) with the first phase expected to produce some 400 000 tonnes of green ammonia for per year for export.

Project Nujio’qonik’s green hydrogen and ammonia will be RFNBO (renewable fuels of non-biological origin) compliant, and will meet Europe’s criteria for green hydrogen, says World Energy GH2.

“This commitment from the federal government reflects the confidence we’ve built in Project Nujio’qonik, both here in Canada and internationally,” said Sean Leet, managing director and CEO, World Energy GH2. “By consistently achieving key de-risking milestones, we’ve confirmed that Project Nujio’qonik is one of the leading, commercial-scale green hydrogen projects in the world.”

“Project Njuio’qonik will surpass the highest global standards for emissions and sustainability, and is poised to deliver against Europe’s ambitious RePowerEU targets for green hydrogen,” noted John Risley, chair, World Energy GH2.

“Thanks to this commitment from the federal government, we expect our project to move more quickly into the next phase, such as FEED execution and long-lead item orders,” commented Kyung-il Park, president and CEO of SK ecoplant, which is an investor in Project Nujio’qonik.

Project Nujio’qonik milestones to date:

• June 2022: environmental registration;
• 23 August 2022: Canada–Germany Hydrogen Alliance signed at the Project Nujio’qonik site in Stephenville, NL;
• September 2022: Memoranda of understanding signed with Qalipu First Nation and the Town of Stephenville;
• November 2022: wind measurement campaign launched;
• March 2023: crown lands bid submitted;
• May 2023: SK ecoplant invested USD $50 million in Project Nujio’qonik;
• June 2023: World Energy GH2 acquired the Port of Stephenville;
• July 2023: pre-FEED (front-end engineering design) completed;
• August 2023: environmental impact statement (EIS) submitted;
• August 2023: crown lands secured, about 108 000 ha (266 000 acres);
• December 2023: one year of wind data achieved;
• January 2024: becomes first North American member of the energy hub, Port of Wilhemshaven, Germany;
• January 2024: environmental impact statement (EIS) Amendment submitted;
• February 2024: EDC, on behalf of the government of Canada, signs a definitive agreement in connection with C$128 million (US$95 millon) credit facility.

RBC Capital Markets and Green Giraffe Advisory are acting as financial advisors for the credit facility on behalf of World Energy GH2. McCarthy Tétrault and McInnes Cooper are acting as legal advisors to World Energy GH2. Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP and Stewart McKelvey are acting as legal advisors on the transaction.

World Energy GH2 is a Newfoundland and Labrador based renewable energy partnership affiliated with World Energy LLC, which describes itself as “one of the world’s largest producers of green fuels.”

Project Nujio’qonik’s partners are CFFI Ventures, Columbus Capital, World Energy LLC, Horizon Maritime, and SK ecoplant.

Project development is envisaged as being in three phases:

Phase 1

• 2+ GW onshore wind generation capacity installed across two wind farms (Port au Port and Codroy);
• hydrogen processing facility in the Stephenville region;
• grid interconnections and hydrogen-fuelled turbines at the plant;

Phase 2

• third wind farm constructed, providing an additional 1 GW of installed capacity (location TBD);
• concurrent expansion of the hydrogen plant;

Phase 3

• evaluate further wind resource potential in the region and potentially expand the project.

SK ecoplant has a 20% stake in the project’s first phase, and its planned involvement includes supply and installation of electrolysers as well as FEED activities. The EPC responsibilities for converting green hydrogen into green ammonia will be undertaken by SK ecoplant in collaboration with its subsidiary, SK ecoengineering.

The initial phase of the project is expected to see installation of a combination of both solid oxide electrolysis cells (SOEC) and polymer electrolyte membrane electrolysis cells (PEMEC) for green hydrogen production.

Bloom Energy has been named as a potential supplier of solid oxide electrolysis cells designed to operate with high-temperature water vapour reaching up to 850°C. This innovative approach reduces the electrical energy required for hydrogen extraction, resulting in enhanced hydrogen production efficiency. Notably, a 500 hour operational demonstration of this technology conducted by Idaho National Laboratory (US Department of Energy) established a world record by producing 1 kg of hydrogen with 37.7 kWh of power. More recently, NASA’s Ames Research Center demonstrated the world’s largest SOEC facility, 4 MW, producing 1 kg of hydrogen with 37.5 kWh of power.