By Michael Reeve

CLEAN ENERGY

Kruger, Sc.wénwen and Elemental to partner on proposed hydrogen plant at Kamloops pulp mill

Dec 8, 2025 | 4:37 PM

KAMLOOPS — A new partnership between Kruger, Tkemlúps te Secwépemc, and Elemental Clean Fuels that could lead to the development of a hydrogen production facility at the Kruger pulp mill in Kamloops is moving ahead.

The Kamloops Clean Energy Centre is described as a first-of-its-kind, 10-megawatt green hydrogen production facility “that will drive industrial decarbonization and showcase Indigenous-led clean energy innovation.”

The proposed facility – which is expected to cost $21.7 million – will produce up to four tonnes of green hydrogen and 32 tonnes of oxygen per day. It’s expected to reduce Kruger’s natural gas use at the Kamloops mill by 16 per cent.

“We have been looking at how to de-carbonize our site for a while, we are on a path towards that,” said Irene Preto, the General Manager at the Kruger mill in Kamloops. “And there are not a lot of options for how to remove fossil fuels from a lime kiln. So hydrogen became an option that we started looking at”

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Preto said the new facility – which has completed feasibility work and is now entering the design and engineering phase – will take purified water and separate the hydrogen and oxygen molecules, with both parts being utilized at the Kamloops mill.

“The technology that we’ve chosen is an electrolysis unit, and so it takes the water molecule – H2O – and allow us to split out the hydrogen use that in our lime kiln, and then the oxygen we can partially use in our oxygen delignification plant, so that is part of the process in our pulping cycle,” explained Preto.

(Image Credit: Sc.wénwen/Kruger/Contributed)

The Sc.wénwen Economic Development Corporation is the business arm of Tkemlúps te Secwépemc, and its CEO Josh Gottfriedsen told CFJC Today this was an opportunity that fit their current direction.

“I think it’s a good opportunity to flex our economic muscle and do some work across the river,” Gottfriedsen said. “And with partners like Kruger and Elemental Clean Fuels we are able to get into that sector and see what we can do on the other side of the river for business.”

Sc.wénwen will be looking to sell any extra hydrogen as a way to recoup back their investment, while supporting a green initiative close to home.

“I think it’s our responsibility as stewards of this land,” added Gottfriedsen, noting the plan is to recycle as much water as possible.

“We have a saying that means that we have responsibilities to this land to make sure that it’s going to be good for future generations, and part of that is cleaning up the industrial green house emissions and part of that is hydrogen clean fuel.”

The project will bring jobs to site during construction, and plans are still be worked out to determine how many staff will be required to run the hydrogen plant moving forward.

It’s also still too early in the process to nail down a date for breaking ground.

“There is a lot of engineering work underway, a lot of interconnection studies with BC Hydro, but right now we are really focused on the safety and engineering components to be able to produce the hydrogen as well as safely use it in our lime kiln,” said Preto.