Mitsubishi, Shell to produce hydrogen in Canada

In Alberta, Canada, Mitsubishi Corporation and Shell Canada Limited will collaborate to build a low-carbon hydrogen manufacturing facility.

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology will be used to manufacture the hydrogen. Mitsubishi will be responsible for the construction of a facility in Shell Energy and Chemicals Park Scotford, near Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Shell will be in charge of making CO2 storage possible through the proposed Polaris CCS project.

The firms chose a region with extensive natural gas supplies, proven CO2 storage capacity, and shared infrastructure opportunities with other companies because the low-carbon hydrogen (blue hydrogen) is created from natural gas.

The project’s initial phase is planned to produce roughly 165K tonnes of hydrogen per year. Work on the facility is expected to begin in the second half of this decade. Depending on demand, the project may expand in the future. Hydrogen must be transformed to low-carbon ammonia before being exported to international markets.

Hiroki Haba, Senior VP Next-Generation Fuels & Petroleum Business Division at Mitsubishi, said, “Mitsubishi is looking into such clean energy opportunities globally. This opportunity in Canada would support Japan’s requirements for clean energy.”

Mark Pattenden, SVP of Chemicals and Products Canada, said, “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. 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.”