ABB and Charbone Hydrogen sign agreement

ABB and Charbone Hydrogen sign agreement to advance North American green hydrogen production facilities

ABB and Charbone Hydrogen Corporation – an integrated green hydrogen production company based in Montreal, Canada – have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) agreement to collaborate on the development of up to 15 modular and scalable green hydrogen production facilities across North America over the next five years, providing a clean fuel source for existing hydrogen users and heavy industrial processes such as steelmaking, which currently use grey hydrogen as an energy source.

The MoU scope positions ABB as the preferred supplier for the design, engineering, fabrication, testing and supply of modular and standard electrical substations (eHouses) for the interconnection between production facilities and local utilities. ABB will support Charbone in standardizing basic engineering for systems and components across its project portfolio, to increase energy efficiency and reliability. Future scope may also see ABB operate as the main automation, electrification and telecom contractor depending on project requirements.

Among the sites covered by the collaboration is Charbone’s flagship Sorel-Tracy facility near Montreal in Québec, Canada. The facility is expected to be connected to the Hydro-Québec grid by the end of quarter two in 2025, using hydro electricity to power green hydrogen electrolyzers. The plant will create a blueprint for the design and engineering of modular and scalable equipment for other sites being developed by Charbone. The next project to get underway will be in the greater Detroit area in the US, which is the manufacturing base for major automotive companies.

“This strategic collaboration with ABB is a strong and significant signal about our proposition for the North American green hydrogen market,” said Daniel Charette, Chief Operating Officer of Charbone Hydrogen Corporation. “With the Sorel-Tracy project moving quickly to on-site activities, and the capabilities of plug and play modular approach to get production starting in a minimal number of weeks, Charbone will support the decarbonization of industry.”

Gouvernement du Québec has developed a localized Green Hydrogen and Bioenergy Strategy to support the deployment of hydrogen and bioenergy to power industrial sectors such as transportation, primary metals and chemicals. It identifies green hydrogen and bioenergy as having the potential to reduce Québec’s consumption of petroleum products by nearly one billion liters a year by 2030. This could cut the region’s greenhouse gas emissions by four megatons of carbon dioxide a year – the equivalent of removing 1.2 million gasoline-powered vehicles from the roads [1].

“Green hydrogen has an important role to play in the transition towards a low carbon energy future,” said Per Erik Holsten, President of ABB Energy Industries. “We are proud to collaborate with Charbone on its strategy to develop and grow green hydrogen production facilities across North America, enabling an important sector to scale and supporting industries to outrun leaner and cleaner.”

In addition to the MoU, Charbone will acquire ABB’s Extended Operator Workplace (EOW) system for all the planned facilities and a main Operator Workplace at Charbone’s headquarters to monitor all the facilities. The EOWs – the first to be installed in green hydrogen production plants in North America – will enhance production and reduce downtime via 24/7 monitoring from local and remote-control centers.
Global hydrogen demand, largely concentrated in the refining and chemical sectors, reached 97 megatons (Mt) in 2023, representing an increase of 2.5 percent year on year. Low-emissions hydrogen production was less than 1 Mt, but it could reach 49 Mtpa by 2030 based on announced projects [2].

[1] https://www.quebec.ca/en/government/policies-orientations/strategy-green-hydrogen-bioenergy
[2] https://www.iea.org/reports/global-hydrogen-review-2024/executive-summary

(Source: Press Release ABB)