°µÍø½ûÇø

HALTON HILLS, ONT.  —The Ontario government has announced it is spending $5.9 million on nine new projects that will integrate hydrogen into the province’s electricity grid.

The funding is through the province’s .

As part of the spending, Atura Power is receiving $4.1 million to blend hydrogen with natural gas to produce electricity at Halton Hills Generating Station, making it the largest electricity-based, grid-connected, low-carbon hydrogen blending project in Canada’s history. The Niagara Hydrogen Centre will utilize excess water that would otherwise have been spilled over Niagara Falls to create clean electricity that will be used to produce clean hydrogen for the project.

The eight other projects receiving funding include:

∙ Capital Power is receiving $206,300 to study the feasibility of blending hydrogen with natural gas (between five per cent to 15 per cent hydrogen) at their existing Brampton, Windsor and Newmarket generation facilities.

∙ Capital Power is also receiving $150,000 to study the feasibility of producing and storing low-carbon hydrogen, produced from wind generation, to fuel a hybrid hydrogen-methane turbine at their Goderich location.

∙ HydroMega Services in Cochrane is receiving $100,000 to study the feasibility of upgrading an existing 27-megawatt natural gas facility to include renewable generation, low-carbon hydrogen production and storage.

∙ York University is receiving $38,000 to study the feasibility of retrofitting existing gas turbine generators to blend hydrogen with natural gas to generate electricity.

∙ York University is also receiving $90,000 to model and analyze the potential of installing low-carbon hydrogen facilities across Ontario, including costs and sizing.

∙ Western University is receiving $498,000 to develop a demonstration site that will test solar-generated hydrogen and biogas-generated hydrogen to assess the environmental benefits of each.

∙ Volta Energy in Toronto is receiving $491,350 to assess how reversible solid oxide hydrogen cells technology can help provide a pathway for hydrogen integration into the electricity grid.

∙ The Transition Accelerator in Hamilton is receiving $101,200 to research the economic readiness of the Hamilton region to become a hub for hydrogen investment.