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Renewable Hydrogen Canada (RH2C), based in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, is planning to produce renewable hydrogen (RH2) through water electrolysis powered by renewables (primarily wind, augmented by hydro). Our first project, Sundance Hydrogen, is a joint venture among FortisBC, RH2C, and Macquarie Green Investment Group (GIG) that will feature a world-scale RH2 plant.
Now is the time.
Northeastern BC is the place. Here's why. |
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Along the flat-topped foothills that parallel the eastern flank of the Rocky Mountains in northeastern BC west-southwest winds blow strong and steady throughout the year. These ridges are sources of wind energy like few places on earth. According to a draft of BC Hydro's 2013 Integrated Resource Plan, 19 of the province's best wind farm sites are located there. Aeolis Wind Power and its partners, including Evolugen by Brookfield Renewable, have several very large, energetic wind farms sites in the area currently awaiting development. These wind projects include Thunder Mountain Wind Project, which has a planned installed capacity of approximately 200 MW. 
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Given the scale and quality of this resource, along with recent advances in wind turbine and blade technology, the region has potential to produce thousands of MW of wind power—at highly-competitive rates and ultra-low carbon intensity levels. Further, this energy can be firmed by BC Hydro infrastructure in the region. The cost of renewable electricity accounts for 75% of the production costs of RH2 through water electrolysis. Given the amount and cost of wind power in northeastern BC, BC Hydro's firming capacity, the nearby pipeline infrastructure and the access to markets, there may be no better place for large-scale, electrolysis-based RH2 production. |
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Electrolysis is by far the most commercially mature method for producing RH2. It involves passing a current through water to break it down into its constituent elements, hydrogen and oxygen. 
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On an industrial scale, there are two main electrolysis methods: Leading manufacturers of both alkaline and PEM electrolyzers now offer turnkey, pre-fabricated, skid-mounted electrolysis modules that:
Electrolyzer modularization, combined with near-optimization of electrolyzer efficiency, represents a sea change in RH2 production. |
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Generic layout of a PEM electrolysis cell (image courtesy of Siemens)
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Multi-stage reciprocating compressor
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In 2015 Vancouver implemented its Renewable City Strategy, which requires that:
Vancouver's strategy is complemented by the BC government's 2016 Climate Leadership Plan that mandates a 40% reduction in GHG emissions over 2007 levels by 2030. This strategy was reinforced in 2018 by the BC government's CleanBC plan, which outlines actions to achieve the above emissions reductions goals, including:
FortisBC supplies Metro Vancouver with natural gas for heating, cooking, and industrial uses. A small percentage of this gas is methane captured from decomposing organic waste at farms, landfills and other suppliers. It's called biogas and is considered renewable. |
FortisBC is seeking new sources of renewable natural gas (RNG), but few large ones exist. Click here to read more.
The only way FortisBC can significantly reduce the carbon intensity of the natural gas it supplies to Metro Vancouver is to blend it with RH2 to create hydrogen-enriched natural gas (HENG). Injecting 120 MW worth of H2 into the main natural gas line in northeastern BC would be equivalent to reducing the volume of natural gas consumed in Metro Vancouver by 10%. FortisBC has determined that, using existing infrastructure, HENG with up to 10% RH2 could be supplied without the need for infrastructure or equipment modification or safety compromises. 
HENG is the first step. Pure RH2 is the second. It's only a matter of time.
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RH2C has secured a large production site in northeastern BC in the heart of BC's gas-rich Montney formation as the location for Sundance Hydrogen. The site is also the proposed location of a world-scale low-carbon methanol plant (Canadian Methanol) and a world-scale low-carbon gasoline plant (Blue Fuel Energy). The Sundance Hydrogen plant will be the first of the three projects to be built. The Sundance Hydrogen site is near to:
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Several First Nations in the region support the proposed fuels projects as they stand to derive significant benefits from them, including:
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