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Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday August 25, 2022

Canada signs non-binding agreement with Germany to export hydrogen to Europe by 2025

The Canadian and German governments have signed a deal to co-operate on exporting hydrogen fuel to Europe, setting an ambitious target of 2025 to begin shipments from Eastern Canada – where a single hydrogen production plant has yet to be built.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz signed the agreement in the western Newfoundland town of Stephenville, near the site of a proposed wind farm project that would power the production of hydrogen from electrolysis.

The joint declaration of intent makes clear the agreement is not legally binding and stipulates it will be up to Canada’s Minister of Natural Resources and Germany’s Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Action to keep track of whether it’s making progress on its goals.

Canada currently produces about three million tonnes of hydrogen from natural gas a year, according to the federal government’s 2020 Hydrogen Strategy, which puts this country among the top 10 producers of the fuel in the world today. The Germans, however, want hydrogen made from renewable power and a raft of projects are under way in Canada to meet this demand.

The Canadian-German agreement sets no targets for volumes of hydrogen produced and contains no commitments of new money to help commence exports to Europe by 2025.