World Energy Green Hydrogen Project Site to Host Trudeau, Scholz, German Corporate Leaders Aug. 23

August 23, 2022

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(World Energy/Biobased Diesel Daily) World Energy and its renewable hydrogen business unit World Energy GH2 announced that the site of their new renewable hydrogen production and distribution project, Stephenville, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, will host Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accompanied by key cabinet ministers Aug. 23. Trudeau and Scholz will be on hand to commit their countries to a historic accord to accelerate the growth of green hydrogen, a new source of clean, transportable renewable fuel made from wind and water, of which World Energy says it is on pace to become one of the first large-scale global suppliers.

Also joining World Energy at the event will be a wide swath of Germany’s corporate leaders including:

Werner Baumann, CEO, Bayer AG

Christian Bruch, President and CEO, Siemens Energy AG

Herbert Diess, CEO, Volkswagen Group AG

Ola Källenius, CEO, Mercedes-Benz Group AG

Burkhard Lohr, CEO, K&S AG

Lena Lüneburger, general manager, Werkzeugbau Ruhla GmbH

Philipp Maracke, CEO, FSG-Nobiskrug

Klaus-Dieter Maubach, CEO, Uniper SE

Siegfried Russwurm, member of the managing board, Siemens AG

Jens Meier, Chairman and CEO, Hamburg Port Authority

Cathrin Wilhelm, CEO, BINZ Automotive

Ralf Wintergerst, chairman and CEO, Giesecke+Devrient

Leaders and proponents of other large-scale renewable hydrogen initiatives in Atlantic Canada including those from Pattern Energy, Northland Power, Brookfield, Belledune, Everwind, Buckeye, Evolugen, Source3, H2One and Fortescue will also be in attendance. It will be the largest gathering of its type ever assembled, according to World Energy, and will mark the birth of an important new industry. The Qalipu First Nation, the Miawpukek First Nation and other local Indigenous communities will also be participating.

In June, World Energy initiated one of the world’s first and biggest projects in the nascent global push for green hydrogen. Capturing Atlantic Canada’s vast wind energy to split water (H2O) into hydrogen and oxygen through a process called electrolysis, World Energy GH2 plans to ship resulting hydrogen to global markets starting in 2024, thereby bottling the wind to deliver clean renewable power at scale to where it is needed, most anywhere in the world.

“We have a moral imperative to act,” said Gene Gebolys, World Energy CEO. “Our closest allies urgently need new sources of renewable fuels, and the world needs to make faster and better progress in developing viable alternatives to fossil fuels at scale.”

John Risley, chairman of World Energy, added, “This project demonstrates what can happen when leaders come together to take real action. We will accelerate the delivery of green hydrogen to global markets because it is so desperately needed. This project highlights the level of innovation, speed, coordination and commitment needed to commercialize the solutions that will make net zero real and achieve genuine results to combat climate change. Our project will serve as a catalyst for other green hydrogen projects in Atlantic Canada and around the world. We’re committed to working with local communities to build a project we’ll all be proud of.”

Word Energy GH2’s project is called Nujio’qonik, meaning “where the sand blows” in the language of the area’s Indigenous peoples. The project will harness Atlantic Canada’s wind resources, which are among the best in the world, to produce 3 gigawatts of renewable power to drive the electrolysis of water to generate more than 250,000 metric tons of hydrogen. Green hydrogen can be used to drive decarbonization in hard-to-abate sectors such as steelmaking, aviation and agriculture. The project is expected to deliver 1,800 direct construction jobs, 300 direct operations jobs and 3,500 indirect jobs.

World Energy GH2’s Project Nujio'qonik is a consortium of Canadian partners investigating the feasibility of the construction and operation of cost-effective green hydrogen/ammonia from wind power in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Project Nujio’qonik will be Canada’s first commercial green hydrogen/ammonia producer created from 3-plus gigawatts of wind energy in one of the world’s best wind resource regions. READ MORE

Timeline for massive N.L. wind project 'extremely ambitious,' consultant says (CBC News)

With international eyes on Newfoundland’s hydrogen potential, some remain skeptical (Toronto Star)

International interest over Newfoundland’s hydrogen potential worries some experts (Global News/The Canadian Press; includes VIDEO)

Trudeau, Scholz set to ink hydrogen agreement in Newfoundland (Global News/The Canadian Press; includes VIDEO)

Why Newfoundland is betting big on wind and hydrogen (Globe and Mail)

Birth of the Post Fossil Industry: World Energy grabs the reins in SAF, renewable diesel and hydrogen (Biofuels Digest)

Canada and Germany Sign Agreement to Enhance German Energy Security with Clean Canadian Hydrogen (Government of Canada)

Excerpt from CBC News: World Energy GH2 expects the Port au Port wind project to produce by mid-2024 -- ... The project, put together by umbrella company World Energy GH2, needs more details and an environmental impact statement before the government of Newfoundland and Labrador gives it the go-ahead.

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The World Energy GH2 plan would see 164 wind turbines built throughout Newfoundland's largely rural Port au Port Peninsula. Nearby Stephenville is where the company wants to build a plant where hydrogen produced by the wind turbines will be converted to ammonia.

That product would then be sold to Germany as it looks to transition away from Russian oil import to power its cities.

Delia Warren, a renewable energy consultant from St. John's who works for the Boston-based firm Xodus, said Monday she was surprised when she heard about the Canada-Germany deal — and even more surprised when she learned of the scale of the proposed operation.

"This is actually, in my opinion, an enormous opportunity for Newfoundland and Labrador. It would put us really as a first-mover in terms of developing this type of technology or putting this type of technology to work at scale," said Warren.

"It would really set the stage for Newfoundland and Labrador to be a world leader."

But Warren has concerns, and she's not alone. Since the Port au Port proposal was announced, residents of the area and environmental advocacy groups have been raising red flags.

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"But where's there a will, there's a way. Where there's adequate funding, there's a way. When there's a need, you can get things done. The technology exists, it has been tested," she said.

"My main concern with the timeline … would be delays caused by an inadequate consultation process." READ MORE

Excerpt from Global News/The Canadian Press: Environmentalists worry the provincial government is moving too fast and trying to capitalize on renewable energy at all costs. Others say they feel uncomfortable with the close ties between the premier of the province and a wealthy businessman backing one of the proposals.

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Newfoundland and Labrador, meanwhile, is home to some of the strongest winds in Canada. In April, the provincial government lifted a moratorium on wind development, throwing open the doors for large-scale projects. Two green hydrogen projects, pitched for the region surrounding Stephenville, would put western Newfoundland at the forefront of Canada’s renewable energy transition.

The newest proposal is led by Australia-based Fortescue Future Industries and details about the project are scarce. The company said Thursday it filed paperwork with the province for a hydrogen and green ammonia production plant, a liquid ammonia marine export terminal and wind power facilities. That paperwork has not yet been made public.

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More details are known about the second project, led by a consortium of four partners calling itself World Energy GH2. The first phase of the proposal calls for building up to 164 onshore wind turbines to power a hydrogen production facility in Stephenville. Long-term plans call for tripling the project’s size.

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Among the companiesbehind the World Energy GH2 consortium is CFFI Ventures Inc., led by Nova Scotia-based billionaire John Risley, who is best known as co-founder of Clearwater Seafoods. Brandan Paddick, a well-connected businessman and close friend of Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey, is listed as an “active co-investor” in CFFI.

Paddick is the former chair of a provincial energy corporation. He recently resigned as head of a provincial energy analysis team whose formation was not made public until news outlet allNewfoundlandandLabrador.com uncovered it. Paddick, CFFI and World Energy GH2 partner Horizon Maritime Services together donated $46,800 to Furey’s Liberals during the 2021 provincial election year.

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Wylezol (Paul Wylezol, a chairperson with the International Appalachian Trail) said he also worries about its environmental impact _ particularly the second-phase plans to erect more 200-metre high wind turbines in an area his group has spent years trying to get recognized as a UNESCO Global Geopark.

Wylezol said people felt blindsided by the project. The provincial government announced it on June 22, with a deadline for public input on July 27.

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The government has since asked the company to provide a full environmental impact study. READ MORE; includes VIDEO

Excerpt from Globe and Mail: The relentless winds that buffet the coasts of Newfoundland and Labrador have caught the attention of renewable-power developers who want to harness them and use the clean electricity to produce hydrogen, with Germany as a potential customer.

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One of the companies pitching a project is World Energy GH2 Inc., a U.S.-based biodiesel producer that wants to build a 164-turbine, one-gigawatt wind farm on the Port au Port Peninsula, on the province’s west coast. The installation would power a hydrogen/ammonia production facility at the site of the old Abitibi-Consolidated pulp mill in Stephenville. (Ammonia is easier to transport than pure hydrogen; when it reaches its destination it can be chemically split, allowing its hydrogen atoms to be used for fuel.)

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World Energy started considering renewable-powered hydrogen production in Atlantic Canada about 14 months ago, casting its eye around for a jurisdiction with substantial wind resources, access to a high-voltage power-distribution grid and a port that can ship product to Europe.

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The Stephenville site has all that, Mr. Risley said, along with access to an abundant supply of fresh water needed to produce hydrogen.

He estimates the cost of the project at US$10.5-billion to US$12-billion, which he said would be the largest single private-sector investment ever made in Atlantic Canada. It would bring a flood of jobs to a region that had an unemployment rate hovering around 12 per cent in July and would produce the kind of clean energy needed to lower emissions in the fight against climate change.

But there is local opposition to the project – something Mr. Risley said he finds discouraging.

“It’s somewhat ironic that we’ve got people who are calling themselves environmentalists who say they don’t want the wind farm in their backyard – they want us to go somewhere else. And you sort of shake your head,” he said.

“Look, if you’re against this, what’s the future? What are you going to be in favour of?”

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Mr. Wylezol also worries about the wind farm’s impact on tourism and future liabilities once the facility is decommissioned.

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“We have no problem with resource development, it’s just how they go about it,” he said in an interview from the bed and breakfast he owns in Portland Creek, N.L., on the island’s west coast.

Instead of building the wind farm on land, he supports an offshore facility that could potentially anchor marine sanctuaries that would serve as nurseries to help improve fish stocks.

“What point is there to destroy tens of thousands of acres of natural wilderness … in order to have green energy to reduce emissions?” he said.

“It’s totally unnecessary when we can go offshore. We don’t have to build the roads. We don’t have to have the power lines. So it’s far less impact.”

Another company eyeing a wind power and hydrogen production facility in the province is Pattern Energy, one of the largest producers of wind energy in Canada.

In June, Pattern signed an option to lease agreement with the Port of Argentia on the Avalon Peninsula, about 130 kilometres west of St. John’s.

A former U.S. naval base, the site’s current role as an industrial and commercial hub means the project would not harm unspoiled wilderness – plus, it’s on an active shipping lane, with transatlantic routes already available, said Frank Davis, the country head of Pattern Canada.

The project is currently in its planning and feasibility stages, and Mr. Davis hopes it can be up and running in 2025 or 2026. READ MORE