Ekona Power Secures $1M from NRCan’s Energy Innovation Program to Expand Burnaby Pilot Plant

We were excited to host the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Canada’s Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, at Ekona’s Burnaby facility on July 9 to announce a $1M investment in our methane pyrolysis solution for clean hydrogen production from natural gas.

This builds on the success of a previous Ekona program supported by Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), through the Breakthrough Energy Solutions Canada Program, tied to the development and testing of our xCaliber™ reactor. The new round of funding supports ongoing reactor development and the expansion of our Burnaby Pilot Plant – a 200 kilogram-per-day clean hydrogen production testing facility. Our pilot plant, along with the commissioning and deployment of our first clean hydrogen production plant with ARC Resources, moves us closer to commercial deployment.

Prior to brief remarks from Minister Wilkinson and our CEO, Chris Reid, we toured our visitors through the reactor bay and site to highlight what we’ve been working on as we expand our pilot plant. This expansion includes integrating the xCaliber™ reactor with industry standard balance of plant equipment for carbon handling, hydrogen purification, compression, and thermal energy recovery. Utilizing industry standard equipment simplifies process integration, mitigates development risk, and makes Ekona’s solution a scalable, low-cost solution, easy to deploy wherever natural gas infrastructure exists.

The truth is Canada’s natural gas resources and infrastructure are critical for meeting tomorrow’s net-zero targets. Ekona’s methane pyrolysis platform unlocks natural gas’ potential for clean hydrogen production without the need for carbon-dioxide sequestration.

Interest in clean hydrogen has been increasing over the last few years and Canada has announced over 80 low-carbon hydrogen production projects since 2020, representing more than five million tonnes of hydrogen production capacity. Several provinces, including British Columbia, now have hydrogen strategies too, signalling hydrogen’s important role on the path to net zero (read BC’s Hydrogen Strategy here).

Minister Wilkinson described the steps Canada is taking to maintain its position as a clean energy supplier of choice, noting that “investing in innovations such as Ekona’s provides opportunities to advance Canada’s hydrogen value chain, create jobs, and seize the economic opportunity of growing global demand for hydrogen.”

We were proud to showcase made-in-Canada technology to Minister Wilkinson and other guests. We have developed a viable and near-term solution for using hydrocarbons in cleaner, better ways. NRCan has been an active supporter of Ekona and our technology vision since 2020 and we are grateful for this new investment and for the ongoing belief and support in our work to decarbonize hydrogen production in the energy sector and heavy industry.

Read the Government of Canada announcement.

Check out Minister Wilkinson’s video about the visit.

Read the Business in Vancouver news article about the announcement.

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