Canadian startup Meager Creek Development Corporation (MCDC) plans to produce green hydrogen from geothermal power supplied by the Meager Creek project in British Columbia (BC), on the site of a previously abandoned geothermal research project. The development is in the unceded traditional territory of the Lil’wat First Nation.

MCDC is targeting first hydrogen production from the initial phase of its project in 2025, which would make it one of the first to do so from geothermal power in the world. The company estimates the first phase will cost C$250mn ($184mn), with a 32MW geothermal plant providing power to the electrolyser to generate 3,900t/yr of green hydrogen.

Hydrogen Economist interviewed Richard Hawker, president of MCDC, to learn more about the project.

MCDC will be one of the first geothermal-powered green hydrogen projects on the planet when it achieves first production in 2025. How and why did you and your team decide to be pioneers in this area?

Hawker: Hydrogen is the best use of dispatchable, baseload power. Unlike wind and solar, which are intermittent, a geothermal resource produces at a rate of approximately 95pc. Given geothermal is a clean and reliable energy source, it is ideal for powering an electrolyser facility.

What are the key hurdles your project must overcome to achieve first hydrogen production in 2025?

Hawker: There is only one true hurdle, and that is securing financing for the project. However, we are confident in our abilities to raise the necessary funds. The rest is following the necessary processes, such as regulatory and environmental requirements. This is not difficult, because our project has a small footprint on a brownfield site.

“Hydrogen is the best use of dispatchable, baseload power”

MCDC has been working closely with the Lil’wat community on environmental and other issues to move the project forward. Could this relationship ultimately lead to an equity stake for the Lil’wat First Nation?

Hawker: Ideally, yes. Our project is located on Lil’wat Nation land, and developing a relationship with the Lil’wat Nation has been a priority of ours from the beginning. We have been working very closely with them, involving them in every step of the project and being transparent with our plans. We have participated in many community events and are committed to continuing our community engagement in a meaningful way. We are not working with the Lil’wat because we have to; we are working with them because we want to.

The process ultimately leads to the establishment of an Impact Benefit Agreement. We want to give the Lil’wat community the opportunity for meaningful employment, providing them with roles in technology, leadership and planning spaces, for example. If a meaningful ownership stake is not finalised by the start of the first phase of our project, we are confident it will happen at a later phase.

Have you decided what type of electrolyser technology your project will employ and why?

Hawker: It will be proton-exchange-membrane-based technology. However, we have not yet decided on who will provide the technology. We are at a fairly advanced stage in project planning and engineering, and therefore we have reached out to almost all the major providers to evaluate our options.

What do you see as the major market for your project’s hydrogen production?

Hawker: Ideally, heavy-duty transportation in BC, including but not limited to trucking and trains. Additional options could include blending hydrogen into natural gas streams, as a feedstock in refining processes or as a feedstock for sustainable fuel generation.

Your Meager Creek project is in a relatively remote area, requiring the use of some logging roads to get there. How are you planning to transport your green hydrogen to market?

Hawker: Power produced by our project will be transported by transmission line to the nearby Pemberton region, where our green hydrogen plant will be located. We will not be trucking hydrogen down logging roads—it is not the hydrogen that poses a risk, it is the trucks themselves. Highway trucks are not made for logging roads.

You mentioned the possibility of additional phases to your project. What sort of potential are we talking at your present site?

Hawker: There is the potential to produce up to 100MW based on conventional geothermal technologies. Meager Creek has the hottest subsurface temperatures in the country—from 220-240°C at a vertical depth of 2,000m. For context, these temperatures are not found in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin until depths of 10,000-12,000m. We have also been approached by various technology companies in the hopes of testing some new technologies on site; so there are discussions and additional potential around that as well.

How about replicating your project elsewhere in the Garibaldi volcanic belt north of Vancouver, such as Mount Cayley?

Hawker: Absolutely—given the tremendous geothermal potential of the Garibaldi belt. We are building a process to replicate our project. It would also be another opportunity for First Nation engagement and involvement, which we strongly believe in.

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Author: Vincent Lauerman