Canadian Pipeline Operator, Enbridge to Make Low-Carbon Fuels with Shell and Vanguard Renewables

Canadian pipeline operator Enbridge Inc has signed an agreement with Royal Dutch Shell and Vanguard Renewables to make low-carbon fuels. Enbridge will buy 2 billion cubic feet of renewable natural gas (RNG) annually from Vanguard, collaborate with Shell on potential green and blue hydrogen production

A chart describing how Vanguard produces RNG from dairy farms. Credit: Vanguard Renewables website

A chart describing how Vanguard produces RNG from dairy farms. Credit: Vanguard Renewables website

Canadian pipeline operator Enbridge Inc has signed an agreement with Royal Dutch Shell and Vanguard Renewables to make low-carbon fuels. The companies are hoping to find commercial viability by seeking companies that want to lower their greenhouse gas emissions. Enbridge will buy 2 billion cubic feet of renewable natural gas (RNG) annually from Vanguard and collaborate with Shell on potential green and blue hydrogen production.

Companies that buy RNG from Enbridge will have access to offsets associated with decarbonization. Enbridge, which set emission-reduction targets last November, hopes to be a net-zero emitter by 2050. The company said it would buy RNG from eight anaerobic digesters that Vanguard will spend $200 million to build and operate in the U.S. Northeast, Southeast and Midwest. RNG is produced when gas is captured from food waste, manure or landfills and turned into fuel for transportation or heating.

Caitlin Tessin, Enbridge’s director of market innovation said: “Enbridge can replicate the project across the United States, and could double the RNG it sells within several years. If natural gas prices, which are soaring, remain elevated, it could further boost demand for RNG, which normally trades at a premium.

Enbridge will spend $100 million on equipment to convert gas from food waste and farm manure into pipeline-quality renewable natural gas and market it to U.S. customers. Coffee chain Starbucks Corp and Unilever Plc are providing food waste to Vanguard for processing into RNG. Enbridge signed an agreement with Shell to explore opportunities to produce hydrogen.

Matthew Akman, Enbridge’s senior vice president of strategy, renewables and new energies, said: “The companies are also looking at developing a carbon-capture and storage hub in southern Ontario where there are lots of industrial emissions and potential storage.”

 

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