French clean-energy company focused on hydrogen development, HDF Energy, launched their T&T subsidiary, HDF Energy Trinidad, at Cara Suites Hotel and Conference Centre on November 3, 2022. HDF Energy has clean-energy investments around the world but recently has had several high-profile projects in the Caribbean, including French Guiana, Barbados and now T&T.

HDF Energy recently acquired 70% of the NewGen hydrogen project which was being developed by Kenesjay Green Limited (KGL). Speaking at the event, Thibault Ménage, Vice President for HDF Energy in the Caribbean, explained that the Energy Chamber of T&T played a key role in facilitating the connection between HDF and KGL. Thibault mentioned that HDF’s first discussion around hydrogen in Trinidad started with a conversation with President and CEO Dr Thackwray Driver, at a conference in Miami.

Dr Driver also spoke at the event and said that he told Ménage, “You really need to come to Trinidad,” and “I’ve put them in touch with Philip who was working on this NewGen project and things got going from there.”

That was three years ago and Dr Driver noted that there were many positive changes since then. The conversation around hydrogen in T&T really came about through work that the Energy Chamber was doing through its Energy Efficiency and Alternative Energy Committee and we began asking the questions, how can we be more efficient with electricity and how can we use waste heat from industry in the Pt Lisas Industrial Estate?

Early on, the Energy Chamber saw this as a good opportunity to decarbonise, then members like Kenesjay took up the mantle to explore the feasibility of developing a project.

Dr Driver also indicated that the development of a hydrogen industry also represents a step change for the petrochemical industry and an opportunity for the industry to reinvent itself as a low-carbon player in the global energy industry.

Thibault Ménage said that this project represents the opportunity to cross between renewable energy, oil and gas, and the petrochemical sector.

He said that HDF brings expertise in hydrogen and renewables but Trinidad and Tobago brings expertise in ammonia, methanol and the possibility of building a hydrogen hub. He reiterated that the NewGen project will be project one and there is scope for other projects in the future.

At this point in time, HDF estimates that the shortfall in hydrogen is approximately 400,000 tonnes. The project aims to supply hydrogen to the petrochemical sector without adding any CO2 emissions. Ménage shared that the project will produce hydrogen through electrolysis and use electricity from a combination of waste heat (from existing power facilities) and renewable energy (which would be provided through the bp, Shell and Lightsource bp major solar project, when complete).

Director of the new HDF Energy subsidiary, Dr Dale Ramlakhan said that the project, due to its unique composition, would generate significant natural gas savings and CO2 savings through sector coupling. At its core, the project encourages efficiency of both the electricity sector and the petrochemical sector.

At present, the project is going through the permitting phase and is currently seeking environmental approval from the Environmental Management Authority. It is estimated that the project will be operational by 2026–27.

The NewGen project is now the first project globally that has reached the stage of an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) for the scale of the project.