Canadian province mimics European green hydrogen strategy

Manufacturers in Nova Scotia are turning to renewable H2 in an effort to slash greenhouse gas emissions.

Three of the largest industrial manufacturers in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia are looking into powering components of their operations using green hydrogen instead fossil fuels.

The companies are Michelin, Port Hawkesbury Paper, and the Shaw Group

Those three companies have launched a feasibility study to determine whether they should use green hydrogen for industrial heating purposes.

Currently, renewable H2 is not being produced on a commercial level in the province. That said, two have already received the necessary approvals from the provincial environment minister. Those projects are by Bear Head Energy and EverWind Fuels.

The Port Hawksbury Paper director of sustainability and economic development Geoff Clarke said that the clean H2 has been increasingly appealing for the pulp and paper mill as they have been watching the progress of the local projects that have now received their approvals.

Both proposed green hydrogen projects are to be constructed at the same place

The two projects will have facilities built at the Point Tupper industrial park.  Since it is located very close to Port Hawkesbury Paper, about 3 miles away, this is a convenient location to access the clean fuel.

“Given our proximity to some of these sites,” said Clarke, “we’ve said we should try to understand better what kind of impact that they could have on our business in a positive way.”  He also went on to add that “most importantly, we want to continually improve our sustainability aspect and we want to look at how we can reduce our carbon footprint as we continue to do business into the future.”

Working together

According to Clarke, Shaw and Michelin are both seeking ways to slash their emissions of greenhouse gases.

“So, we decided to put our heads together and come up with an idea of how we could positively use hydrogen once it gets developed on a commercial scale here in the province,” he said.

The companies turned to the non-profit Net Zero Atlantic for assistance when it opened the door to proposals for a consultant to conduct the feasibility study.  The province’s Clean Fuel Fund will provide most of the funding for the study through a $450,000 grant on top of smaller contributions made by the three participating companies.