Olivia Woods
Irving Oil will be increasing hydrogen production capacity at the company’s refinery in Saint John, N.B., in an effort to reduce carbon emissions and provide customers with clean energy.
By acquiring a 5-megawatt hydrogen electrolyzer from New York-based Plug Power Inc., the company will be able to produce two tonnes of hydrogen per day using electricity from the local grid.
As a key component of the refining process, hydrogen is used to reduce the sulphur content of petroleum products like diesel fuel, however, most refineries make hydrogen using natural gas, which releases carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere.
“Investing in a hydrogen electrolyzer allows us to produce hydrogen in a very different way,” said Andy Carson, Irving’s director of energy transition in an interview.
“Instead of using natural gas, we’re actually using water molecules and electricity through the electrolysis process to produce … a clean hydrogen.”
Decarbonization of the grid and clean electricity for the hydrogen electrolyzer are two of Irving’s long-term targets, which the company plans to pursue in collaboration with others in the province, he added.
The 14 generating stations of New Brunswick Power’s electrical system are powered by hydro, coal, oil, nuclear, and diesel.
According to Irving, this would be the first oil refinery in the country that invests in electrolyzer technology.
“This kind of investment allows us to not just move to a cleaner form of hydrogen in the refinery. It also allows us to store and make hydrogen available to the marketplace,” said Carson.
This technology will help the company “unlock pent-up demand for hydrogen as an energy transition fuel for logistics organizations,” he added.
Original source material for this article taken from here
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