Canada industrial gas producer Charbone has started construction work at the Sorel-Tracy hydrogen site in Quebec, with commissioning slated from November.
The work involves the complete preparation of technical infrastructure and the installation of foundations required for the reassembly of the main equipment, after it was delivered earlier this month.
Dave B. Gagnon, CEO of Charbone, said the start of civil construction work brings the vision of “local, decarbonised clean ultra-high-purity hydrogen production” in Quebec to life.
Hydrogen will be produced via electrolysis and use clean energy from the Hydro-Quebec grid, with initial capacity targets of around 400kg of green hydrogen per day.
Through a modular approach, the company is building a distributed network of green hydrogen plants while diversifying revenues with helium and specialty gas partnerships.
Last week Charbone began the first delivery of 161,000 cubic feet of helium to an independent distributor in the Greater Toronto area.
The Quebec firm said starting the shipment marked a milestone for its helium division and its integration into the North American specialty industrial gases supply chain.
Delegates attending the Helium Super Summit in Austin recently heard that independent gas distributors now move nearly a quarter of US helium supply, with 65% of that volume sold in the south and west of the country.
The global helium market is expected to grow by $2bn between 2024 and 2030, representing an average annual growth rate of 6.7%.
