FormerXBC Inc XEBEQ

Demand, Demand, Demand

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The abundance of cheap hydro-electric power that made Quebec now attracting other potential power-thirsty buyers: European green hydrogen producers. We have people right now in Europe who want to decarbonize: They are very interested in coming to Quebec to produce green hydrogen from green electricity, to put that on a boat, and go back, Sophie Brochu, the chief executive officer of power utility Hydro-Quebec, said in an interview. They are ready to pay a fortune to decarbonize. Quebec is in a enviable position. Home to 50 power-intensive data centers for companies including Amazon.com Inc. and Microsoft Corp., the province also has large contracts to export its clean electricity to New York and Massachusetts. Appetite for our electricity has never been higher, said Brochu, who took over the government-owned company in the early weeks of the pandemic. Were not saying Oh my God, where do we push our electricity right now? Thats the case with green hydrogen. Europes goal to rely on hydrogen produced without fossil fuels for its heavy industry has prospective power customers from the other side of the pond knocking on Hydro-Quebecs door. The idea would be to produce the clean-burning gas in Quebec -- using electricity to break water molecules -- and then ship it across the Atlantic. The utility is interested in making more transactions in these industries, with a focus on regions its connected with. Cash is not an issue, Brochu said. Spending wisely is.