The Canadian federal government will investment CAD $1m from the Energy Innovation Program’s Clean Fuels and Industrial Fuel Switching initiative to Ekona Power, according to a news release.
The funding will support Ekona in advancing its methane pyrolysis solution for clean hydrogen production from natural gas. Building on the success of a prior program to develop and test Ekona’s xCaliber™ reactor, which was previously supported by Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) through its Breakthrough Energy Solutions Canada Program, this project will support further development of the reactor and expand Ekona’s Burnaby test facility.
Ekona’s solution converts natural gas into hydrogen and solid carbon, which reduces greenhouse gas emissions when compared with other conventional processes used to produce hydrogen. Ekona’s unique pyrolysis reactor uses the principles of combustion and high-speed gas dynamics to dissociate feedstock methane. It is low-cost, scalable and easy to integrate, and it leverages existing natural gas infrastructure to deliver a practical solution that meets the growing demand for clean hydrogen and the needs of Canadian industry.
Ekona’s solution has the potential to produce low-cost clean hydrogen while reducing greenhouse gas emissions by up to 90 percent. More broadly, it could enable cost-effective, ultra-low-carbon hydrogen gas production from natural gas within the need to capture and sequester carbon dioxide. This project will also help Ekona build and test its pilot plant, validate performance against commercial targets and explore how this technology can be utilized in British Columbia for decarbonizing the natural gas network.
Ekona will deploy its first field unit next year. Ekona Gold Creek is a 1-tonne-per-day (1TPD) Customer Demonstration Plant. It will be deployed at Arc Resources’ Gold Creek gas plant to demonstrate how methane pyrolysis technology can decarbonize upstream oil and gas operations. The plant will be built, commissioned and tested in 2025 for operations in 2026.
There are now 13 low-carbon hydrogen production facilities in operation across Canada, able to produce over 3,000 tons of low-carbon hydrogen per year.
