Brossard, Quebec, February 20, 2024 – CHARBONE HYDROGEN CORPORATION (TSXV:CH) (OTC:CHHYF) (FWB:K47) (the “Company” or “Charbone”),  North America’s only publicly traded pure-play green hydrogen company, is pleased to announce that the City of Sorel-Tracy and Charbone Hydrogen Québec Inc, a wholly owned subsidiary of Charbone, have finalized all arrangements to move forward on next steps towards site construction of the area’s first green hydrogen facility on land along Highway 30’s “Steel Highway”.

Phase 1 development of the Sorel-Tracy green hydrogen plant, with capacity to produce approximately 200 kg per day, is expected to begin in the coming weeks. As previously announced, Charbone has tapped renewable energy construction leader EBC Inc. to lead project delivery, and all major components and equipment for the facility are reported as being ready for site delivery.  The start-up of the plant and production of the first kilogram of green hydrogen will mark an important achievement for Charbone as the Company executes on its ‘design and build’ vision to develop a North American network of modular and scalable green hydrogen facilities.

The Sorel-Tracy Green Hydrogen Project will serve as the Company’s flagship facility, giving Charbone a first-mover advantage with production starting this year. The facility is targeting industrial uses and replacing gray hydrogen with a clean, non-toxic, renewable alternative to fossil fuels. Already, aligned with decarbonization policies of the Government of Quebec, the plant will create up to 30 jobs when all 5 phases are completed.

 “Since Day 1, the Sorel-Tracy Green Hydrogen Project has been considered the Charbone ‘flagship’ to not only demonstrate our capacity to produce green hydrogen, but also to showcase our vision of developing a modular network of green hydrogen production facilities that strategically reduce current transport costs and delivery challenges associated with delivering hydrogen directly to customers,”  said Dave B. Gagnon, Chairman and CEO of Charbone. “Charbone thanks Mayor Patrick Péloquin and his entire team for their extraordinary collaboration and will work hard for the success of the project in Sorel-Tracy to meet the expectations of stakeholders.”.

The Charbone team has worked diligently for years to refine our technology and proprietary processes with the goal of delivering more than 16 scalable, turnkey green hydrogen production facilities by 2030 in strategic corridors across North America coast to coast.

Charbone has an offtake agreement with Superior Plus in place to leverage the distribution network, this includes all Charbone green hydrogen production for Quebec and Manitoba.  

The land lease which has a duration of more than 26 years, also includes a community component, in which Charbone has committed to paying the City, a royalty on each kilogram produced and sold by this production facility, paid annually. The City of Sorel-Tracy may use this payment as it wishes for projects that it deems appropriate.

Click Image To View Full Size

On the picture, from left to right : Daniel Charette, Charbone COO, Dave Gagnon, Charbone CEO,

Mr. Patrick Péloquin, Sorel-Tracy Mayor and Mr. Carlo Fleury, Sorel-Tracy General Manager

About Charbone Hydrogen Corporation

Established in North America, Charbone is an integrated green hydrogen group focused on delivering technological solutions for the production and distribution of green hydrogen, produced from clean and renewable energies. The Company's strategy is to develop modular and expandable hydrogen facilities and regional hubs producing green dihydrogen molecules using reliable and sustainable energy and rapidly become the leading supplier of ecological solutions for industrial, commercial and mobility users.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains statements that are “forward-looking information” as defined under Canadian securities laws (“forward-looking statements”). These forward-looking statements are often identified by words such as “intends”, “anticipates”, “expects”, “believes”, “plans”, “likely”, or similar words. The forward-looking statements reflect management's expectations, estimates, or projections concerning future results or events, based on the opinions, assumptions and estimates considered reasonable by management at the date the statements are made. Although Charbone believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, and undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements, as unknown or unpredictable factors could cause actual results to be materially different from those reflected in the forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements may be affected by risks and uncertainties in the business of Charbone. These risks, uncertainties and assumptions include, but are not limited to, those described under “Risk Factors” in the Corporation’s Filing Statement dated March 31, 2022, which is available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com; they could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in any forward-looking statements.

Except as required under applicable securities legislation, Charbone undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking information.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.