TC Energy Corp. agreed on Nov. 10 to collaborate on the development, construction, operation and ownership of hydrogen production facilities (hubs) across North America with Hyzon Motors Inc., a leading supplier of hydrogen-powered fuel cell electric vehicles.
The hydrogen production facilities will be used to meet hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle demand by focusing on low-to-negative carbon intensity hydrogen from renewable natural gas, biogas and other sustainable sources. The facilities will be prioritized near existing and potential customer demand with the goal of hydrogen delivery to fuel heavy-duty vehicles.
“Through this agreement we are marrying the expertise of TC Energy in natural gas and renewables with that of Hyzon, which has its technology in fuel cell electric vehicles being delivered around the world today,” Corey Hessen, senior vice president and president of power and storage at TC Energy, commented in a company release.
Analysts with Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. (TPH) noted the similarities of the Hyzon agreement and a partnership announced last month between TC Energy and U.S.-based electric truck maker Nikola Corp. that aims to establish hydrogen hubs producing 150 tonnes or more of hydrogen per day near highly traffic corridors across the U.S. and Canada.
“The announcement to collaborate with Hyzon is similar to Nikola with the intention to co-develop hydrogen production facilities, though on a much smaller scale at ~20 tonnes/day,” the TPH analysts wrote in a Nov. 11 research note. “Likewise, these hubs will look to deliver low-cost, low-to-negative carbon intensity hydrogen infrastructure that will utilize TC Energy’s natural gas connections and pipeline network.”
TPH added that it expects a minimal equity impact in the near-term for both projects.
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As part of its agreement with Hyzon, TC Energy will operate the hubs, supply the power and gas commodities, and provide asset development, management services, and power and gas sales marketing. The pair also expect to utilize existing partnerships with modular hydrogen technology partners, such as Raven SR and ReCarbon.
“TC Energy is committed to exploring and developing energy solutions in North America for our own assets as well as those of customers to meet their energy transition needs,” Hessen added in the release. “We believe we are well positioned to execute on the development of hydrogen and CO2 pipelines.”
Currently, Hyzon and TC Energy are evaluating near-term potential hydrogen hub production sites in a number of states, tied to prospective fleet customer deployments. In addition to Hyzon vehicle customers, the partnership will jointly market third-party hydrogen volumes to industrial sectors, power generation and energy distribution, according to the release.
“By partnering with TC Energy on modular hydrogen production hubs from a range of sustainable production feedstocks close to Hyzon fleet deployments we can fully decarbonize mobility at a very low cost and time to build,” Parker Meeks, chief strategy officer at Hyzon Motors Inc., commented in the release. “This agreement is just one of the many steps and strategic partnerships that Hyzon Motors will be announcing in the coming months to confirm our ability to bring clean hydrogen infrastructure to market with our vehicles in the very near term.”