Canada invests C$5.9m in e-fuels projects using nuclear-powered hydrogen

Canada’s government has announced a C$5.9m investment to facilitate the development of two e-fuel projects using zero-carbon hydrogen produced from nuclear power.

The funding was awarded to Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL), Expander Energy Inc., Nuclear Promise X, FuelCell Energy, and St. Marys Cement, each of which will play a key role in the development of the two sites.

It is hoped that the sites will be operational in 2025 and will support the transportation sector.

The first project aims to produce synesthetic diesel using synthetic gas generated from biomass gasification combined with hydrogen produced by FuelCell Energy’s electrolyser technology.

Once operational, the plant will produce 550 barrels of synthetic fuel a day, or around 30 million litres per annum. A full front-end engineering design will then be performed on a selected site, with the aim to build several global plants.

The second project will be located at St. Mary’s cement facility and will produce synthesis gas via co-electrolysis, which combines water and carbon dioxide (CO2) electrolysis.

For this development, FuelCell Energy will supply a 5kW electrolyser.

The project will demonstrate the ability to transform a source of carbon emissions into valuable resources by capturing and repurposing it into synthesis gas (PtL), which can be used to make a variety of energy and feedstock materials.

Jason Few, President and CEO of FuelCell Energy, said that the projects will demonstrate the differentiated capabilities of solid oxide technology to leverage nuclear power at 100% electrical efficiency.

He added, “Canada’s commitment to innovation and environmental responsibility resonates with our core values, and we are proud to contribute our solid oxide electrolysis technology to these groundbreaking synthetic fuel endeavours.”