Major development for Point Tupper.

POINT TUPPER — A Cape Breton energy storage terminal that recently sold for $76.9 million will be developed into the clean fuel hub of Eastern Canada, according to the new owners of the Point Tupper facility.

The site’s former owner, Texas-based liquid storage and pipeline operations giant Nustar Energy L.P., closed the sale of the Point Tupper facility late last week. The terminal, once part of the ill-fated Gulf oil refinery that was both established and closed down in the 1970s, was purchased by Everwind Fuels LLC, a self-described developer of green hydrogen and ammonia production, storage facilities and associated transportation assets.

The sale was announced earlier this week when Everwind issued a statement declaring its intent to expand and upgrade the Port Tupper site into an operation that includes new green hydrogen and ammonia production facilities. Company CEO Trent Vichie said the undertaking is expected to create new clean energy jobs, support Nova Scotia in its efforts to meet carbon emissions reduction targets and establish the province as a global leader in green hydrogen production for both domestic and export markets.

“The development of green hydrogen is an essential tool in the fight against climate change and its importance is growing,” said Vichie, the Australian-born and raised businessman in an interview from New York where he has resided for more than 20 years. “The expansion of the Point Tupper site will support significant economic development in the region that can attract billions of dollars in new investment, create new jobs and help make Nova Scotia and Canada leaders in this exciting industry.”

THE DETAILS

The Everwind Fuels website claims its team includes former executives from Stonepeak, Blackstone, Emera and Nova Scotia Power, who have collectively owned and operated more than $30 billion in infrastructure assets.

The expansion of the oil storage facility, located south of the Canso Causeway and the town of Port Hawkesbury on 1,400 acres in the Point Tupper Heavy Industrial Park, is scheduled to begin later this year when construction will start on Phase 1 of the project.

That phase is expected to be in operation by the end of 2023, while the second expansion phase is estimated to be in operation by 2027. Everwind stated that the first green hydrogen could actually be produced in Point Tupper by as early as 2025. The company estimated that the project will reduce domestic and international carbon emissions by more than four million tonnes each year.

Vichie said he’s not yet certain as to how many new jobs will be created. The site is presently operated by a team of about 70 highly-qualified workers.

“In fact, the team that is there now is one of the factors that made Point Tupper so appealing,” he said. “We got an on-site team there is full of top-quality people who have been doing it for a long time. They have an amazing track record when it comes to safety. They’re local, they know the place and they are just really good people. And they are excited about what we’re going to be doing with the site.”

The company also stated it will be working with a number of partners including Hatch, a global engineering and development management firm, NEL, a global production, storage and distribution specializing in hydrogen and electrolyzers, and KBR, another international firm that supplies technologies for green ammonia production.

WHAT IS GREEN HYDROGEN?

Hydrogen may be the world’s most abundant element, but it hasn’t exactly been easy to tame. The traditional method is to extract the hydrogen from water, but that has proved to be anything but environmentally friendly due to the process’s considerable CO2 emissions.

Now, by using renewable sources of energy, such as wind or solar, the electrolysis process is considerably cleaner as it doesn’t emit greenhouse gases. Green hydrogen can be used as fuel for vehicles, cooking, home heating and the production of other clean fuels including green ammonia and methanol.

WHY POINT TUPPER?

Along with the 1,400-acre site, the existing Port Tupper infrastructure includes a tank farm with a liquid storage capacity of 7.7 million barrels. There is also available electricity and fresh water.

The area has existing rail loading facilities and an icefree,

deep-water port that can accommodate the largest sea-going vessels in the world. The port became icefree year-round following the completion of the Canso Causeway in 1955.

Other key factors that make Point Tupper a favourable location includes its proximity to lands suitable for wind farms, the aforementioned pool of highly-skilled local labour and easy connectivity to the Nova Scotia Power grid.

“The site also has the right zoning because there has traditionally been heavy industry there and there is a lot of infrastructure there already in place,” said Vichie. “It think it’s the best site in Nova Scotia.”

LOCAL REACTION

Word of the storage facility’s sale is, of course, good news for the local economy.

“It makes sense to set up here because we have such great facilities including the deepwater port,” said Strait and Area Chamber of Commerce executive director Misty Macdonald.

“I understand that they will continue to operate the facility as it was while they work on getting their greener energy project up and running,” she said. “It’s definitely good news. And it’s a good signal because so many of our businesses rely on fossil fuels and we all know that the deadlines for the phase-out of fossil fuels are approaching fast. This is part of a greener future with a stable economy for the Strait area.”