Canada’s hydrogen strategy will require new nuclear generation to supply growing electricity demand, according to a report by the nation’s Nuclear Innovation Institute.

The government’s hydrogen strategy projects that hydrogen could account for between 13pc and 31pc of the nation’s total energy demand by 2050.

But if hydrogen were to meet 18pc of Canada’s energy demand by 2050, then 436TWh of new electricity generation would be needed, the report says—an almost two-thirds increase from Canada’s 2018 electricity production of 648TWh.

31pc – Amount of Canada’s 2050 energy consumption that could be met with hydrogen

Deploying renewables alone to meet this demand would require 26,000 wind turbines or 5,500 utility-scale solar farms.

The report suggests that a portfolio approach to electricity generation is a better solution.

“While the land use requirements make it unrealistic to meet this demand through renewables alone, nuclear power can provide the reliable anchor of baseload power we need as part of a diversified energy mix,” it says.

Around 15pc of Canada’s electricity generation comes from four nuclear power stations. The nation is exploring the potential to expand nuclear capacity through small modular reactors in remote communities.

Although Canada’s hydrogen strategy does not provide specific goals for generation technologies, it does note that there are synergies between hydrogen production, nuclear and renewable electricity.

“Hydrogen can be produced via electrolysis using off-peak nuclear electricity in the near term, while high-temperature thermal processes or coupling with small modular reactors are viable in the longer term,” the strategy says.

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Author: Tom Young