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Charbone purchases three hydro plants in Michigan to power hydrogen production

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Hydrogen Charbone Corporation announced it has signed the contract of purchase and sale with Northwoods Hydropower Inc. to acquire all general partner and limited partner interests in Tower Kleber Limited Partnership and the Black River Limited Partnership.

Together, these two companies own the 560 kW Tower, 1.2 MW Kleber and 1 MW Alverno small hydroelectric plants in the Onaway, Mich., area. The purchase price for the acquisition is US$3.6 million, subject to adjustments.

The terms and conditions state that the acquisition must close no later than Feb. 28, 2023, subject to customary closing conditions.

The partnerships are parties to long-term power purchase agreements (PPA) with local public utilities, and these plants will increase the recurring revenues for 2023 and for the duration of the PPAs, Charbone said. Michigan’s power plants also generate income from the sale of renewable energy certificates (REC) from the production of its green, clean and renewable energy.

Charbone’s strategy is to acquire hydroelectric power stations, to modernize and optimize them to increase their production capacity and, consequently, the value of the assets for Charbone and its shareholders, and to further support Charbone in deploying a regional green hydrogen hub in Michigan and other locations.

Charbone plans to develop and build modular and scalable green hydrogen production facilities in Wisconsin and Michigan over the next few years. All of these hydroelectric plants provide land space to accommodate green hydrogen facilities or increase capacity through the automation and modernization of installations with new turbines and other technologies that would allow Charbone to produce more electricity at one end of the network, then to transmit this energy on the lines of local public authorities that will be subject to a transport fee, to enable the production of hydrogen in a large industrial or urban center, close to end users.

Northwoods’ management and operating teams will continue to exercise their functions under Charbone ownership and will work with and assist Charbone’s engineering team to implement optimization, modernization and automation projects in each of the powerhouses.

“This acquisition consolidates Charbone’s strategy in the Midwest. These hydroelectric plants are well located to produce green hydrogen and deliver it to Detroit, the heart of construction automobile industry in North America, which is increasingly adopting hydrogen technologies,” said Dave B. Gagnon, president and chief executive officer of Charbone.

The strategy of Charbone, based in Canada, is to develop modular and scalable hydrogen production facilities. Through the acquisition of hydroelectric power stations in the U.S. and Canada, Charbone intends to produce green dihydrogen molecules from reliable and sustainable energy to stand out as a provider of an environmentally friendly solutions for businesses.