NEWS

Suncor and ATCO partner on a clean hydrogen project in Alberta

06 October 2021

The project would produce over 300,000 tonnes per year of clean hydrogen, reduce Alberta’s CO₂ emissions by over two million tonnes per year, to advance Alberta’s hydrogen strategy, generate substantial economic activity and jobs across the province, and make a sizable contribution to Canada’s net zero ambition.

Suncor Energy and ATCO Ltd. are collaborating on early stage design and engineering for a potential clean hydrogen project near Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta.

The project would produce over 300,000 tonnes per year of clean hydrogen, reduce Alberta’s CO₂ emissions by over two million tonnes per year, to advance Alberta’s hydrogen strategy, generate substantial economic activity and jobs across the province, and make a sizable contribution to Canada’s net zero ambition.

“With abundant natural gas resources and geology that is well suited to the utilization and permanent storage of CO₂, Alberta is one of the best places in the world to produce clean hydrogen,” said Mark Little, President and CEO, Suncor. “Suncor’s 50 years of experience producing and using hydrogen in refining and upgrading operations combined with ATCO’s extensive midstream gas experience creates a winning partnership to reduce our companies’ emissions and establish Canada as a global leader in clean hydrogen.”

It is expected that 85 percent of the produced clean hydrogen would be used to supply existing energy demand. Specifically, 65 percent of the output would be used in refining processes and cogeneration of steam and electricity at the Suncor Edmonton Refinery, reducing refinery emissions by 60 percent. In addition, approximately 20 percent of the output could be used in the Alberta natural gas distribution system, also further reducing emissions.

“This project would be a global scale solution to reducing emissions with made-in-Canada energy ingenuity while positioning Alberta at the forefront of the clean hydrogen economy,” said Nancy Southern, Chair and CEO, ATCO. “A clean energy future is a shared national priority, and a transformational project like this one will require extraordinary collaboration with all levels of governments. We look forward to working with our partners in government and with our regulators to bring this vision to life.”

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