Mining’s old guard needs strong medicine
A new report details subpar investor returns in the mining industry over the last decade, particularly big cap diversified companies which have not adapted to new realities.
Thyssenkrupp Uhde Chlorine Engineers, a subsidiary of German industrial giant Thyssenkrupp, announced that it will be building a plant capable of producing 11,100 tonnes of hydrogen per year in Quebec, Canada.
The 88-megawatt water electrolysis plant was commissioned by state-owned company Hydro-Québec. Both the hydrogen it generates and the oxygen it releases as a byproduct of the electrolysis process will be used in another plant to produce biofuels from residual waste for the transportation sector.
For Thyssenkrupp, water electrolysis is the key technology for decarbonizing the industrial sector
“This plant will be one of the world’s first and biggest production facilities for green hydrogen. Commissioning is scheduled for late 2023,” Thyssenkrupp said in a media statement.
In the company’s view, water electrolysis is the key technology for decarbonizing the industrial sector as, to date, it is the only scaled technology for producing green hydrogen.
“Green raw materials only become economically viable if they are produced and used on an industrial scale, as this is the only way that scaling effects can be reflected in an improved cost structure,” the release states.
Another European company, Air Liquide, made a recent announcement related to a hydrogen plant in Quebec.
The French firm said this week that it completed the construction of the world’s largest Proton-Exchange Membrane electrolyzer (PEM) in the city of Bécancour.
The PEM is being supplied with 20 MW of renewable energy and is now producing up to 8.2 tonnes per day of low-carbon hydrogen for industrial use and mobility.
