The German multinational Hy2gen is continuing the steps to build a green hydrogen and ammonia production plant in Baie-Comeau, even if uncertainty still hovers over the 300 megawatts of energy it needs.
The COURANT project, the name given to the Baie-Comeau project, would require around a billion dollars in investment and could create around a hundred jobs. Hy2gen has been developing this project since 2020 with the support of Innovation and Development Manicouagan.
In a press release released at the end of the day on March 31, Hy2gen announced that it had awarded a contract to Technip Energies to carry out a preliminary engineering study providing valuable data on “the configuration of the plant process, selected technologies, estimation of plant capital requirements and clarification of site operating costs.”
Expected by the end of 2023, the results of the study will also provide the promoter with information to move on to subsequent stages, including the possible launch of environmental impact studies.
A detailed preliminary project study of the COURANT project will then remain to be carried out. If it leads to a final investment decision, Hy2gen expects the plant to be completed by mid-2028. “Production of renewable, climate-neutral ammonia is expected to begin shortly thereafter, making it Hy2gen AG’s first Canadian project,” the press release reads.
Note that the schedule was revised over the last year as in February 2022, the president and CEO of Hy2gen, Cyril Dufau-Sansot, told the newspaper Le Manic that he planned to start construction in 2023 with production beginning in 2026.
On Quebec soil
The promoter explains that the Baie-Comeau plant will produce “renewable ammonia for the production of carbon-free raw materials intended for use in Quebec. »
In addition to the COURANT project, the German company is currently overseeing the construction of its first factories in France, Norway and Germany.
Hy2gen makes no secret of it. It aims for nothing less than becoming the market leader in the production of renewable hydrogen and its derivatives for transport, agriculture and industry.
source: Le Manic