Japan’s Mitsubishi Corporation (MC) and Shell Canada announced on Wednesday (8 September) that they have entered a partnership to produce low-carbon hydrogen through carbon capture and storage (CCS), with the pair hoping to produce up to 165,000 tonnes per year.
The project is to be set up in Edmonton, Canada towards the ‘latter part of this decade’. Mitsubishi is to build and set up the facility near the Shell Energy and Chemicals Park Scotford, and Shell will provide CO2 storage through its Polaris CCS project. Hydrogen will be produced at the site via natural gas feedstock, before being converted into low-carbon ammonia, and finally exported to Asian markets – primarily Japan.
According to the partners, hydrogen will be produced using steam methane reforming technology that will harness Canada’s natural gas reserves.
“This opportunity in Canada would support Japan’s requirements for clean energy,” said Hiroki Haba, Senior Vice President, Division COO, Next-Generation Fuels & Petroleum Business Div., MC in a statement.
“Shell is leveraging our global leadership in carbon capture and storage to help produce the low-carbon products our customers need to move through an accelerated energy transition,” said Mark Pattenden, Senior Vice President of Chemicals and Products Canada added. “This opportunity is in line with our vision to create a world-class site to provide customers with lower-carbon fuels, products and carbon storage.”
Shell’s Polaris CCS project was launched in July this year, with the storage facility able to store 300 million tonnes of carbon across its lifetime.
Edmonton was this year labelled Canada’s first hydrogen hub due to its high yields of natural gas resources. Alberta, known for its abundance of oil sands, is similarly aiming to achieve a hydrogen hub status, as well as forge ahead in carbon storage initiatives. The Canadian government in 2020 released its Hydrogen Strategy, which seeks to put the gas as a crucial player in the country’s push for net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, and put Canada as a leading figure on the global hydrogen stage.
Reference:
https://www.chemengonline.com/mitsubishi-and-shell-sign-mou-for-blue-hydrogen-project-in-canada/
