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Hydrogen 101

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Salish Elements envisions the development of an Indigenous Green Hydrogen Highway across British Columbia, spanning North to South. The initiative establishes a green hydrogen fueling station network, starting at Port of Prince Rupert and extending through crucial areas including Prince George, Cache Creek, and Abbotsford.
These fueling stations promote sustainable transportation and cut emissions province-wide. Strategically placed along the highway, they encourage widespread adoption of green hydrogen technology, fostering environmental stewardship and economic growth in Indigenous communities and beyond.

Why Green Hydrogen?

Other forms of Hydrogen production continue fossil fuel extraction and harm our environment.

What is Green Hydrogen?

Green hydrogen is a gas that can be used to carry energy to power machinery such as a heavy duty truck or generator. Green electricity splits water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen gas.

How is Green Hydrogen Made?

The process is called electrolysis and is how green hydrogen will
be produced by Salish Elements. When electricity passes through water molecules, it separates the oxygen and hydrogen atoms which allows the hydrogen atoms to be collected for future use as a fuel.

How is Green Hydrogen Used?

Green hydrogen re-combines with oxygen from air in a fuel cell to generate power and re-creates water as a waste product. When the hydrogen and oxygen atoms fuse together again (creating water), we can harvest the energy from that reaction to power an electric motor.

How is Green Hydrogen Transported?

Fuel cells and electric motors can power trucks, replacing a traditional diesel engine.

Flow of Green Hydrogen

Green hydrogen can be produced from renewable energy, compressed and stored, distributed and then reach its final destination as fuel for vehicles or for daily life.

What that means for Salish Elements

A Vertically Integrated Green Hydrogen Company offers a comprehensive hydrogen package, including a low-cost, reliable green hydrogen supply across British Columbia and a wide-ranging fueling network. We also provide solutions for energy delivery via green hydrogen and work closely with companies providing end-use technologies to facilitate the transition from diesel to renewable energy sources.

FAQ Communities

Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the Universe. Hydrogen is a gas that can be used as a fuel to make energy, like gasoline, diesel or propane. Hydrogen atoms can be found in water, oils and many other materials around us. We can easily harvest hydrogen from water. Hydrogen can be separated from the oxygen found in water (H2O) by running electricity through pure water, which splits the molecules into hydrogen and oxygen.

Once the hydrogen is split, separated and stored on its own, it can then be used as a fuel. When hydrogen fuel is made through this process, it is called “Green Hydrogen”. Green hydrogen can replace fossil fuels like diesel and gasoline without releasing carbon emissions and pollution. The only byproduct when it is used is pure water. This will help solve the climate crisis by reducing pollution created from burning fossil fuels.

Communities seeking economic development opportunities can benefit through being partners in the green energy industry. They would do this by creating the infrastructure for hydrogen production and end use. We at Salish Elements want to see a hydrogen economy in British Columbia that is stewarded and majority owned by Indigenous people, for all people.

The goal is to begin production of the first green hydrogen by the fall season of 2025. At this time, Salish Elements needs to obtain permits for construction and operation, guarantee a hydro power rate, build the necessary components to produce the hydrogen, and purchase equipment.

Salish Elements will take on production facility costs. Funding is coming from a combination of federal/provincial grants specifically for Indigenous green energy projects and private investors. Natural Resources Canada currently has $250 million set aside for Indigenous clean fuel production that could fund 50 percent of the project. Salish Elements is pursuing this funding, and negotiating with a finance partner for the remaining amount needed for construction. The initial plant is expected to cost about $60,000,000.

As of now, the initial project is outlined for 25 MW only. However, should the community decide that the project is successful and a benefit to their people, they can expand and produce more hydrogen in the future as market demand grows. The facility could be expanded upon future discussion initiated by the community.

We estimate about 15 full-time permanent jobs being created. In addition, up to 30 temporary or part time jobs would be needed at the time of construction. These would be in skilled trade, operations and maintenance, engineering and management. Salish Elements will also coordinate training programs for hydrogen technologies.

FAQ Partners

The hydrogen will be loaded and stored into larger tanker trailers that will transport and deliver the hydrogen to fueling stations and customers who need it. There will be small temporary storage on site for the hydrogen, but the majority will be loaded into trailers and taken off-site as it is produced. Hydrogen is the lightest element in the universe and disperses quickly into the atmosphere if it leaks. It does not spill into soil and water and does not cause pollution. If ignited, the hydrogen burns very rapidly and empties out very fast. Testing by the Canadian Safety Association demonstrated that hydrogen is safer to store than gasoline.
The economic benefits will be shared equitably based upon contributions to project success. Salish Elements values community ownership and benefits that will be shared amongst stakeholders who have contributed to and supported the success of the project. The wider global community and the environment will also benefit significantly as we rely less on fossil fuels and develop clean energy projects like this.
Indigenous First Nations and remote communities that rely on diesel, as well as heavy haul transportation fleets running in interior and Northern B.C will use the fuel in the short term and long term.
While 100,000 litres may sound like a lot, to give some perspective, an Olympic swimming pool holds between 2,500,000 litres and 4,000,000 litres of water. It would take over a month to fill an Olympic sized pool using the water consumption of the hydrogen plant. In comparison, the Fraser River flows at 27 billion litres per day at its lowest, which can fill over 8000 Olympic swimming pools in one day. The design of the water intake will guarantee the fish will be protected from any water being pumped. Additionally, we will ensure through the environmental assessment that the pump location will be far away from any salmon spawning locations.
The only byproduct is pure oxygen, which we all breathe and trees release into the atmosphere. There will be no wastewater generated by the operation. Any native dirt, mud or natural minerals will be filtered from the water and returned to the environment.
100 thousand litres a day, 700 thousand a week, 3 million a month, 36.5 million a year. To compare, Nestle uses 265 million litres of pure, clean spring drinking water a year, with no benefit to the surrounding communities.
From 100,000 litres of water, we can generate enough hydrogen to be able to fuel at least 100-150 heavy duty trucks running daily. One third of the hydrogen produced could power a remote community of about 5,000 people with some commercial and industrial activity.
Yes! The process of running electricity through water (electrolysis) is completely self contained in a secure unit called an electrolyser. This is commercially available technology that has been used for years. An electrolyser is basically a vessel that runs an electric current through the water, separating hydrogen from oxygen. The vessel and piping are made from advanced materials, and welded stainless steel to prevent corrosion and leaks.
The plant would produce 10,000 kg a day of hydrogen stored in cold compressed gas tankers for up to one or two days before being transported for consumer use. To use cold compressed gas, engineers have implemented safety features such as: leak detection, ventilation, and pressure release devices for storage tankers to prevent any incidents from occurring. Employees would need to be trained on safely handling compressed hydrogen before being cleared to work and safety standards and plans will be put into place to ensure a safe workplace following national guidelines and any other guidelines community leadership sees fit to follow.