N.B. touts potential economic development, emissions reductions in hydrogen road map

New Brunswick’s first hydrogen road map lays out a series of measures hoped to encourage the development of the industry in the province, while outlining the potential benefits the sector could bring to the province.

The report estimates that the production and use of hydrogen in the provincial economy could reduce emissions by 29 per cent by 2050, and drive $1.9 billion in sales on the global export market.

Natural resources minister Mike Holland says the government sees great potential in the industry.

“I do think that we’re positioned well and I do believe that there’s a market there,” he said.

“In the absence of a quantification of specifics, the ingredients are there for us to put something together where there will be a willing buyer and a willing seller.”

The road map is a high level view of where the technology may be headed and what preliminary actions the province will take to support the industry. It lays out 11 action items with the majority focused on the necessary legislative and regulatory changes needed to allow for the development of the sector, including changes to the Electricity Act and rules around the safe transport and storage of the gas.

Holland said that work is already underway, pointing to amendments passed in the fall that allow companies to generate their own power to produce hydrogen.

Other items include engagement and partnerships with First Nations, as well as public engagement and the creation of an energy cluster in the province. The road map also promises an innovation fund to spur development of green technology that makes use of hydrogen.

Liberal energy critic Rene Legacy says he’s happy to see the province exploring the topic, but says he’s left with a lot of questions after reading the document.

“I think government is trying to send a positive signal to industry to say we’re open but I think industry is hoping to see a lot more, they actually want to see some meat on the bone because these projects, they’re not measured in months, they’re measured in decades,” he said.

The road map makes the case that New Brunswick is in an advantageous position to become a player in the global hydrogen market. It says the province has vast untapped wind power potential that could be used to produce green hydrogen, estimating the province could house an additional 3,004 MW of onshore wind production and 17,240 MW of offshore production, a massive increase from the 397 MW capacity in place right now.

Holland says that’s one of the primary reasons the province is so well placed to take advantage of the emerging sector.

“Our positioning on the eastern seaboard and the proximity to ports and the richness of a wind environment by being coastal does give us a unique positioning,” he said.

It also points to the continued development of small modular nuclear reactor (SMR) technology that may also be used to produce low carbon intensity hydrogen. The port of Belledune is one of two hydrogen hubs identified by the province, which has laid out hopes to create a green energy hub, using SMRs to produce hydrogen and ammonia.

Saint John is the other hub identified in the report, which is home to the Irving Oil Refinery which has already begun producing hydrogen and has aspirations to supply the regional transportation market when the technology allows.

Both areas have been identified in part due to their deep-water ports and proximity to the European market. Last year, premier Blaine Higgs attended the World Hydrogen Summit, pitching the province as a possible provider of green hydrogen for the Netherlands and Germany.

But Green leader David Coon said the province should focus on how it can supply the market at home before getting too carried away with dreams of big bucks on the global export market. In particular, he says the focus should be on using hydrogen to replace the use of natural gas in the industrial sector.

“Let’s focus like a laser beam on getting that fuel use substituted by hydrogen because it’s the logical substitute for fossil gas and reduce the greenhouse gas emissions associated with its industrial use,” he said.