Provide clean hydrogen to Germany and the rest of Europe is a better one chance for canada plans to build liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals as the world moves away from fossil fuels, the country’s minister of Natural Resources said.
Canada and Germany discuss the construction of LNG terminals on Canada’s Atlantic coast over the next five years, ahead of a visit by the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to Canada next week.
Germany has been trying to gain independence from Russian gas since its February invasion of Ukraine, but the cost of transporting the gas from albertain the Canadian West, to the east coast would be high.
A new pipeline would be needed, and the global shift from fossil fuels means its lifespan would be too short to be profitable unless it is converted into a hydrogen terminal when gas demand declines.
“We’re working on those issues. But what I’d say is… on the East Coast, hydrogen is the big opportunity,” Natural Resources Secretary Jonathan Wilkinson told Reuters. Wilkinson’s comments reflect a shift in support for potential new East Coast LNG projects. A German official said on Thursday that Canadian LNG would only be “a medium-term solution”.
Scholz will sign an agreement to establish hydrogen supply chains with Canada during a two-day visit next week.
The agreement will accelerate a partnership to hydrogen export off the East Coast as early as 2025, Wilkinson said.
