Decouple21 Okt 2022

A Canada-Germany Hydrogen Scandal?

James Fleay, an Australian engineer and project manager in the energy sector, joins Dr. Keefer to discuss the "Hydrogen Alliance" proposed between Canada and Germany.

This Hydrogen Alliance is coming under increasing scrutiny due to allegations of a conflict of interest arising out of the Premier of Newfoundland, Andrew Furey's luxury trip to a lodge owned by Canadian billionaire John Risley this summer.

Risley happens to be one of the principal investors in a project called Nujio’qonik, one of three projects competing to be part of the Canada German Hydrogen Alliance alongside EverWind Fuels in Nova Scotia and the Port of Belledune project in New Brunswick.

Beyond a potential political scandal lies a very real energy scandal.

Fleay describes the chemistry, thermodynamics, and economics required to turn electrons generated by wind turbines in Canada into ammonia to be shipped across the Atlantic to be burned in German Power plants, a process which he describes as being "The least efficient way to get electrons on the German grid imaginable." Decouple takes a look at who will foot the bill and who will profit.

The total output of the Canada German Hydrogen Alliance which requires a near doubling of Canada's total national wind fleet, expensive electrolysis equipment, ammonia production through the energy intensive Haber Bosch process, large scale shipping and potential energy hungry reconversion to hydrogen for burning as fuel in German thermal plants is almost equal to the output of a single German nuclear station, ISAR 2, one of the three remaining nuclear plants still under threat of closure in Germany.

With the myth of cheap Canadian exportable hydrogen as a tool to replace Russian natural gas busted we examine Canada's only truly green and ultra low carbon energy export: its nuclear technology and uranium which is already used in near carbon free power plants domestically and around the world offsetting a full 1/3 of Canada's total all sector emissions.

Hang onto your hats. This is an interesting one.

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