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‘Hydrogen’s time has come’: Gazifère, Evolugen announce injection project for Gatineau

Published: February 25, 2021

First project of its kind in Canada will see Enbridge subsidiary inject green hydrogen into its gas distribution grid

In the long term, Gazifère aims to be North America’s first natural gas utility to be 100% green by 2050.

In the short term, hydrogen could very well be a vital rung on that ladder.

Gazifère, an Enbridge subsidiary, and Evolugen, the Canadian operations arm of Brookfield Renewable, today announced plans to build and operate one of Canada’s largest green hydrogen injection projects in Quebec.

The approximately $90-million project will see a 20-megawatt (MW) electrolyzer plant built in the city of Gatineau, adjacent to Evolugen’s hydroelectric facilities. Green hydrogen produced via electrolysis will be injected into Gazifère’s natural gas distribution network via a new 15-kilometre pipeline connecting the plant to the Gazifère grid.

“Green hydrogen can play a major role in Quebec’s energy transition by offering a sustainable, low-carbon energy solution,” says Cynthia Hansen, Enbridge’s Executive Vice President and President of Gas Distribution and Storage.

“With the production, transportation and distribution of green hydrogen, Gazifère has the ambition to provide its customers with an increasingly diversified portfolio of renewable natural gas options,” she says. “This is another important example of Enbridge’s multi-market approach to green the natural gas grid while continuing to meet the demand for safe, reliable and affordable energy.”

Adds Seamus O’Regan, Canada’s Minister of Natural Resources: “Hydrogen’s time has come. It will lower our emissions and create jobs. Projects like this will get us to net zero.”

The plant is expected to produce about 425,000 gigajoules (GJ) of green hydrogen to be injected into the Gazifère network—making this the first project of its kind in Canada. It’s anticipated the project will remove about 15,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions each year.

“Clean hydrogen presents Canada with an opportunity to leverage our resources and world-leading clean tech sector to drive innovation on transformative technologies and reduce polluting emissions. Evolugen and Gazifère stand out and excel in this field,” remarks Stéphane Lauzon, Member of Parliament for Argenteuil-La Petite-Nation.

Gazifère is one of two natural gas distributors in Quebec, serving more than 43,500 customers in Gatineau, Chelsea and elsewhere in the Outaouais region. Gazifère began supplying renewable natural gas (RNG) in 2020, and intends to become the first natural gas distributor on the continent to offer an all-green, fully renewable energy portfolio by 2050.

“We must combat the impact of climate change on our population and infrastructure by showing leadership in energy transition, prioritizing both the development and use of renewable energy,” says Maxime Pedneaud-Jobin, mayor of Gatineau. “That’s why we are proud to support Evolugen and Gazifère’s innovative project, which will contribute to the fight against climate change while generating important economic benefits for our region, including job creation in this new sector.”

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