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Realising renewable ammonia production to help achieve climate targets
Hy2gen Canada, the Canadian subsidiary of global renewable hydrogen producer, Hy2gen, has submitted the project notice for the renewable ammonia production plant project, COURANT, to Quebec’ s Minister of the Environment, Fighting Against Climate Change, Wildlife and Parks. This milestone marks the end of the planning stage. In the next step, Quebec’ s Minister of the Environment will define the directive for an impact study that Hy2gen has to carry out. The impact study aims to test the proposed project to ensure safety and ensure minimal environmental impact.
Hy2gen is confident that it will meet these expectations as it has been in close continuous contact with regional political and industry stakeholders.
Project COURANT‘ s output of 230.000 tonnes of ammonia per year will be used to decarbonise the local mining industry and help the region around Baie-Comeau, where the plant will be located, achieve its climate goals by reducing CO₂ emissions.
Beyond its environmental impact, project COURANT will also become a significant economic driver. It will generate up to 1,000 jobs during construction and create around 300 permanent positions once operational.
With 300 MW of electrolyser capacity, Hy2gen’ s COURANT project will be one of the largest ammonia production plants in North America when it becomes operational in 2030. Achieving this late stage in project development for COURANT serves as a proof of concept for similar ammonia production plants Hy2gen is developing in the Americas and Nordic countries. Through this worldwide network of production plants, Hy2gen plans to supply Europe with renewable fuels such as ammonia to aid decarbonisation efforts.
Santander to close 95 of its UK branches
Santander has announced plans to update its branch network from June 2025, which include closing 95 of the bank’ s existing
444 branches.
These locations will be covered by new Santander Community Bankers providing face-to-face money management and general support for customers, visiting local communities weekly, as well as attending local Banking Hubs.
Approximately 750 colleagues would be placed at risk of redundancy if the proposals proceed after consultation with the unions has been completed.
The bank will be changing the format of a number of branches to include 18 counter-free and 36 reduced hours branches, alongside its 290 full-service branches and five Work Cafés.
The Work Café concept, which Santander is rolling out globally, provides a hub for local communities and businesses, including a coworking space, superfast WiFi and a dedicated event space – which can be accessed for free by customers and non-customers alike.
In addition to the bank’ s Work Cafés, it has invested tens of millions of pounds in a branch investment programme over the last two years, refurbishing 99 branches, with a further 50 branches due to be completed over the coming year.
The bank also continues to enhance its mobile banking app, chat service and telephone banking to support customers.
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