Germany, Canada agree to explore green hydrogen development
16/03/2021 15:40
FRANKFURT, March 16 (Reuters) - Germany and Canada agreed on
Tuesday to explore the joint development of green hydrogen from
Canadian hydroelectric power for export to Germany.
Germany wants to scale up hydrogen as an alternative to
fossil fuels for mass applications in industry and energy to
meet climate targets, but lacks land resources to produce enough
green power for use in the necessary electrolysis process.
Green hydrogen is a zero-carbon fuel made by electrolysis,
using renewable power from wind and solar to split water into
hydrogen and oxygen.
Canada's minister of natural resources, Seamus O'Regan, said
in a webcast that "Canada has the benefit of natural resources
and the urgency of lowering emissions," while Germany's economy
minister Peter Altmaier said that both countries had identical
ambitions to reach climate neutrality by 2050.
No details on possible hydrogen trade volumes were given.
Deputy ministers from the two countries will meet in May for
the first time to work out a work schedule for the endeavour.
Canada launched its hydrogen strategy last December, calling
on investors to spur growth in a sector the government says
could be worth C$50 billion ($40 billion) and create 350,000
jobs. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2IW2C6.
It wants to become one of the three biggest producers of
hydrogen worldwide with significant shares earmarked for export.
The European Commission last July laid out its vision to
promote green hydrogen up to 2050, which is expected to lure up
to 470 billion euros in investments. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N2EF2K1 Analysts see
tough challenges, especially the cost of infrastructure and
conversion losses that make production expensive.
Altmaier and O'Regan also said liquefying Canadian gas for
export as so-called LNG for regasification in Germany could also
be part of the cooperation, for the time that gas was serving as
a "bridge technology" towards hydrogen, where the planned
Goldboro LNG terminal project on Canada's East Coast could come
to play.
Germany only agreed last Thursday to cooperate more closely
with Saudi Arabia on green hydrogen, and its companies have put
out feelers to that country and Chile. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2L92KR urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N2II2WW
($1 = 1.2455 Canadian dollars)
(Reporting by Vera Eckert, editing by David Evans)
((vera.eckert@thomsonreuters.com; +49 30 2201 33654;
@EckertVera;))