Young Pipeliners Edmonton Chapter gives a view of midstream Hydrogen

The Young Pipeliners Association of Canada (YPAC) Edmonton Chapter successfully concluded their 2020 event calendar by hosting speakers from Enbridge on October 27th and Atco on November 17th for a two-part webinar series focused on Midstream Hydrogen Developments. With recent announcements and increased public interest in the application of hydrogen technologies, the webinar series served to provide attendees with the latest developments from two of Canada’s leading energy companies. Event highlights are noted below:

Photo by Floris Andréa on Unsplash
  • Enbridge October 27th Event:
    • Steven Rogers (Enbridge Supervisor of Stations & Utilization Engineering) shared an overview of the renewable natural gas standard developed to support Enbridge’s strategic priority of extending natural gas transmission and distribution to renewable gas opportunities. Steven also shared examples of how renewable natural gas is being applied through projects in Toronto and Niagara, Ontario.
    • Desiree Gajonera (Enbridge Supervisor of Electrical & Controls Engineering) provided background on the blending and transportation aspects for the Enbridge Low-Carbon Energy Project near Markham, Ontario. The Project utilizes surplus electricity to produce hydrogen gas through Hydrogenics electrolysis technology. The hydrogen gas is stored and can be converted back into electricity when needed or blended with natural gas as a less carbon-intensive energy source. As part of the proposed Low-Carbon Energy Project, some customers in the City of Markham will receive hydrogen blending as part of the natural gas delivery system.
  • Atco November 17th Event:
    • Gregory Caldwell, Atco Director of Energy Systems Innovation, shared background information about the importance of hydrogen in current and future energy systems, as well as an overview of hydrogen developments undertaken by Atco locally in Fort Saskatchewan and abroad in Australia. Within Alberta, this includes Atco’s recently announced Fort Saskatchewan Hydrogen Blending Project, where hydrogen, at a concentration of 5%, will be blended into a portion of the Atco Fort Saskatchewan natural gas distribution system. This project is the first of its kind in Alberta, and benefits include a reduction in the greenhouse gas (GHG) intensity of the distributed natural gas stream and affordably decarbonizing the production of heat, which is vital to achieve Canada’s long-term emissions and energy goals.

Thank you to Desiree Gajonera, Steven Rogers, Gregory Caldwell and the webinar participants for joining the two events! The YPAC Edmonton Chapter looks forward to connecting further with members in 2021.

About Atco:

With approximately 6,500 employees and assets of $22 billion, ATCO is a diversified global corporation with investments in the essential services of Structures & Logistics (workforce and residential housing, innovative modular facilities, construction, site support services, workforce lodging services, facility operations and maintenance, defense operations services, and disaster and emergency management services); Utilities (electricity and natural gas transmission and distribution, and international electricity operations); Energy Infrastructure (electricity generation, energy storage, and industrial water solutions); Retail Energy (electricity and natural gas retail sales); Transportation (ports and transportation logistics); and Commercial Real Estate.

About Enbridge:

Enbridge’s vision is to be the leading energy delivery company in North America. Enbridge delivers the energy people need and want—to heat their homes, to keep their lights on, to keep them mobile and connected.

Enbridge operates across North America, fueling the economy and people’s quality of life. Enbridge moves about 25% of the crude oil produced in North America, transports nearly 20% of the natural gas consumed in the U.S., and operates North America’s third-largest natural gas utility by consumer count. Enbridge was an early investor in renewable energy and has a growing offshore wind portfolio.