Canada won’t be of much help to Germany in its search for natural gas sources other than Russia this winter, admit Berlin and Ottawa. But it will, they say, be at the heart of the transition to new sources of green energy, including hydrogen, which will happen much faster than meets the eye.

Canada currently has no way of liquefying natural gas on its east coast and transporting it directly across the Atlantic to Europe. However, it would take time and a lot of money to build such plants, since they are usually built next to sources of supply and those sources are located in Canada’s western provinces, Canada’s Prime Minister said on Monday in Montreal. Justin Trudeauduring a press conference where he shared the podium with his German counterpart, Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

“Until now there has never been a viable business plan,” continued Prime Minister Trudeau the export of Canadian liquefied natural gas to Europe. It now remains to be seen whether, with Russia invading Ukraine and Europeans wanting to move away from fossil fuels, “the new context and needs will change the situation enough to move on from before”. “Ministers and companies are currently discussing this. On the government side, we are ready to make things easier so that regulatory obstacles can be overcome quickly. »

However, this accelerated treatment does not apply to environmental regulations, Federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault specified in an interview with the homework. Of the fifteen projects currently on the drawing board, it would be surprising if more than one actually saw the light of day, he said. And it would take at least three or four years for that to happen.

“Will the Germans hold their breath for the next three or four years? I do not think so. What is clear is that the federal government will not invest in a liquefied natural gas project in Canada [et qu’il] There will be no accelerated environmental assessment process for these projects. »

A forthcoming revolution

“In the short term we will do everything we can to help the Germans,” assured Justin Trudeau. This could take the form of increased Canadian exports to the United States and across the Pacific, which through a game of liaison ships would free up natural gas reserves in other parts of the world, which could then make their way to Europe.

In the longer term, however, Canada’s contribution should prove to be much greater, especially in terms of green hydrogen production, critical mineral supplies, as well as technologies essential to the transition to a climate-neutral economy, argued Olaf Scholz, who is at the helm on Sunday large delegation of German ministers and business representatives arrived in Canada and will leave on Wednesday.

Don’t be fooled by the fact that hydrogen production from renewable energy is still in its infancy, he said. “Like all great industrial developments of the past, it starts slowly, then there’s a point where it quickly picks up steam when companies decide to make the switch. […] We are currently experiencing that. We will all witness this change, not just future generations. »

In a statement to globe and mailCanadian Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson pointed out on Thursday that, to be acceptable, any natural gas liquefaction plant project must be designed in such a way that the plant can then be converted to produce and export liquid hydrogen. Since all of these operations require a lot of energy, we would particularly rely on the immense wind power production capacities of the Atlantic provinces.

Meanwhile, an initial agreement on the production and export of hydrogen is due to be signed in Stephenville on the island of Newfoundland on Wednesday. Before that, German automakers Volkswagen and Mercedes will announce in Toronto on Tuesday that they have signed a deal to supply nickel, cobalt and lithium to make batteries for electric cars, Bloomberg reported on Monday.

LNG Quebec

In an interview, Steven Guilbeault assured Canada was not under German pressure to revive GNL Quebec’s natural gas liquefaction project in Saguenay.

Instead Chancellor Scholz thanked Canada again not “to have fallen into the trap he set Vladimir Poutine and the return to Europe of a Montreal-repaired turbine destined for Russia’s Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline. Despite recent efforts at diversification and rationing, Germany is still dependent on Russian gas and Canada’s strict application of the embargo against Russia would have Moscow provided an excuse to turn off the faucet to Europe, adding to the split in the ranks of the Western coalition that has formed against Russia since the invasion of Ukraine.

With Boris Proulx

To see in the video