The former coal-fired Nanticoke generation station property could become the site of a new hydrogen production facility.
Atura Power and Imperial Oil have announced plans to study the potential for such a facility at the site.
The study is scheduled to begin this spring. It will focus on the commercial and technical aspects of developing a hydrogen facility.
Atura is a subsidiary of Ontario Power Generation, which owns the site of the former coal-fired station.
“We recognize the need for leadership, ingenuity and collaboration to help Canada achieve its ambition of net zero by 2050,” said Jody Grant, Imperial’s refinery manager in Nanticoke. “We look forward to participating in this study in support of potential use of hydrogen at our Nanticoke facility and working with other companies and policymakers to bring lower-emissions technologies to commercial scale.”
The Nanticoke area has access to key electrical infrastructure to power a facility. The feasibility study will evaluate an initial production facility with a range of three to 10 million kilograms, a joint statement from Imperial and Atura said.
Atura is implementing a low-cost, low-carbon hydrogen plan to help reduce greenhouse gases while supporting development of clean-energy to support a net-zero emissions future.
Low-carbon hydrogen will be an important tool in the fight against climate-change, the company said.
“We are very excited to work with Imperial to evaluate the potential for a local hydrogen hub that will support a net-zero emissions goal for Haldimand County,” Atura president Chris Fralick said. “Ontario has the opportunity to leverage our low-carbon electricity system to produce low-carbon hydrogen to help reduce emissions in industries such as refining, steel, mining, fertilizer production and heavy-duty trucking.”
Haldimand County Deputy Mayor Bernie Corbett said he learned of the agreement and feasibility study on Tuesday.
“I don’t know that much about it,” Corbett said. “But I can say that Haldimand County would welcome any new industry looking to locate here.”
New industry brings jobs and generates assessment for the municipality, he said.
Corbett is filling in for Haldimand Mayor Ken Hewitt, who has stepped away from the mayor’s role to run for the Progressive Conservatives in the June 2 provincial election.
Just last month the Ontario government announced its low-carbon hydrogen strategy to create jobs and reduce emissions. The strategy aims to position Ontario as a clean manufacturing hub prepared to support new investments to produce clean steel, electric vehicles and the batteries that power them.
The province, when it released the strategy in April, said it was supporting Atura’s proposal to build and operate a facility in Niagara Falls, which would expand Ontario’s hydrogen production capacity eight-fold.
Atura is also looking at the former Lambton Generation Station near Courtright for a large-scale hydrogen production facility.
Other locations being studied for hydrogen production by Atura include sites in Halton Hills and Windsor.
The former Nanticoke Generating Station operated from the early 1970s until 2013 and was the largest coal power station in North America. It was decommissioned in 2013 as part of the then-Liberal government’s plan to get rid of coal power in Ontario.
Two of the station’s smokestacks were demolished in 2018 and the remains of the station were demolished in August 2019.
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