Page 7 - FSUOGM Week 35 2022

FSUOGM COMMENTARY FSUOGM

Graphic of the
Brunsbuttel FSRU.
Source: German LNG
Terminal.

need to be transported to the East Coast via pipe- Hydrogen plans
line from Western Canada. Oil and gas pipelines Meanwhile, a longer-term plan for Canada and
are a contentious issue in Canada, with such pro- Germany to partner on green hydrogen trade
jects frequently running into opposition, as well appears more likely to come to fruition as the
as getting held up by regulatory hurdles. energy transition increasingly takes priority.
Germany is aiming to have phased out Rus- Under the partnership announced by Scholz
sian gas imports by 2024, and no new Eastern and Trudeau, Canada would start shipping green
Canadian LNG project is considered likely to hydrogen – produced using wind energy – to
be built by this point. Earlier this year, it initially Germany by 2025.
looked like Europe’s scramble to cut depend- The deal signed by the two countries would
ence on Russian gas could revive plans to build also see them co-ordinating policies in order to
Pieridae Energy’s Goldboro LNG project and attract investment into hydrogen projects.
repurpose the Saint John LNG import termi- "German companies are already signing deals
nal in New Brunswick for exports. However, to buy made-in-Canada hydrogen," Trudeau
any momentum seen earlier this year has since said this week in Newfoundland. "There is no
tailed off, and the only progress being made on doubt the demand is there."
Canadian LNG export projects is on the West This comes as Canada aims to establish itself
Coast, where the LNG Canada and Woodfibre as a major producer of cleaner forms of hydro-
LNG facilities are under construction. gen. These forms – green and blue hydrogen
This has not stopped Scholz from talking up – are also more costly to produce, and costs
Canada’s potential as an LNG trading partner for associated with exports also need to be factored
Germany this week. in. But clean hydrogen is also increasingly being
"As Germany is moving away from Russian touted as a key part of the energy transition, and
energy at warp speed, Canada is our partner thus plans to establish a supply corridor between
of choice," Scholz said at a German-Canadian Canada and Germany could gain traction with
economic conference in Toronto. "For now, this the private sector.
means increasing our LNG imports. We hope Indeed, Scholz said Canada had “almost
that Canadian LNG will play a major role in this." boundless potential to become a superpower
However, a Canadian government source was in sustainable energy and sustainable resource
quoted by Reuters as saying that there had been production”. Germany, meanwhile, is aiming
no change to previous plans for Canadian LNG to import “significant amounts of renewable
export projects, and that Scholz was “well aware” hydrogen to decarbonise its hard-to-abate sec-
of the timeline required to build such projects. tors in line with its 2045 climate neutrality tar-
Nonetheless, Trudeau has been reported to get”, according to the deal signed between the
have indicated that he would be willing to ease two countries this week.
regulatory barriers for new LNG export projects The way forward will be challenging, but
if private sector players decide to push ahead there appears to be significant appetite to move
with them. forward – though more for hydrogen than for
LNG. ™

Week 35 02•September•2022 www. NEWSBASE .com P7