Korean company invests $50M US in World Energy's Newfoundland hydrogen plan
Controversial project still in environmental assessment stage
A subsidiary of South Korean company SK Group has signed a $50 million US ($67.3 million Cdn) deal with World Energy GH2 to buy a minority stake in a controversial green hydrogen project plan on Newfoundland's west coast.
Under the deal, SK Ecoplant will acquire a 20 per cent stake in the first stage of World Energy's Nujio'qonik project on the Port au Port peninsula.
The company wants to build a massive, multibillion-dollar wind-hydrogen project, which would include 164 wind turbines powering a hydrogen and ammonia plant in Stephenville.
The deal comes at the same time the provincial government is working to sell Newfoundland and Labrador internationally as a hydrogen powerhouse.
Energy Minister Andrew Parsons and Premier Andrew Furey were in the Netherlands last week, shopping the province to major players in Europe's emerging hydrogen market.
Canada and Germany signed an agreement to build a new hydrogen supply chain across the Atlantic last year.
But opponents of the project say they're concerned about unintended consequences for the area's plants, animals and water systems.
A group of protesters are fighting an injunction issued after they blocked access to one of the project's work sites.
The companies say SK Ecoplant will to be an important partner in this project, thanks to its expertise in green hydrogen and engineering.
World Energy GH2 chairman John Risley called the investment validation that the company has all of the requirements for a successful project.
The project is currently in the provincial environment assessment stage, and its opponents are pushing Ottawa to subject it to a federal environmental assessment.
The company is also still involved in Crown Lands application for the site it wants to use.