WINTER IS COMING: an Ekona Gold Creek Project Update
Less than two months ago, we kicked off the construction phase of Ekona Gold Creek. During this time, the team has met significant milestones to advance the project.
Ekona Gold Creek is our one-tonne-per-day clean hydrogen field demonstration at ARC Resources’ Gold Creek Natural Gas Plant near Grande Prairie, Alberta. The project is an important next step on our path to commercialization and will validate our methane pyrolysis solution for clean hydrogen production in a real-world setting. Our experience at Ekona Gold Creek will also inform subsequent commercial plant deployments.
Doing world-changing hard tech isn’t for the faint of heart
Team Ekona has been hard at work preparing for the construction and commissioning phases of Ekona Gold Creek for many months. Over the last two, many of the pieces have started to fall into place and it’s been all systems go to advance the project before winter sets in.
The team has worked incredibly hard over the last couple of months to meet our project objectives and timelines,” observes Dejan Sparica, Ekona’s Chief Operating Officer. “We look forward to maintaining this momentum as we continue the construction and commissioning phase next year.”
Preparing for construction
The list is long when you’re getting ready to build something complex! Some of the activities we’ve been focused on include securing permits, developing safety plans and other SOPs (standard operating procedures), and finalizing road agreements. We’ve also been working on various engineering and feasibility studies, including the construction working package, the integrated facility process design, the HAZOP (Hazard and Operability Study), and detailed design work packages for all the system equipment. Procurement is in progress for many of these long lead items.
Deployable wherever there is natural gas infrastructure, Ekona’s solution delivers clean hydrogen and solid carbon to decarbonize Canadian industry, without relying on carbon capture and storage infrastructure, an abundance of clean electricity, or water feedstock to drive the process.
Pre-winter construction
With the Alberta winter fast approaching, we undertook the overall plant groundwork, completed the pre-drilling and pile installations, and poured the foundations necessary for the various buildings and platforms we need. The office buildings and E-House are now up and winterized. The site is ready for plant construction and we’re excited for this next stage to begin.
Many thanks to the team who’s been leading Ekona Gold Creek, including Mike Elsinga (Program Manager, Field Deployments) and Saeed Davari (Gold Creek Project Manager). Thanks also to our site partner and investor, ARC Resources, for their support and collaboration on getting to this stage.
Stay tuned for more updates from site in the spring! You can also sign up for our newsletter here, and follow us on LinkedIn here.
