StormFisher Hydrogen Ltd. ("StormFisher") is a Toronto-based developer and operator of industrial-scale projects producing green hydrogen and synthetic fuels such as e-methanol and e-methane. Using renewable-powered electrolysis, it supplies reduced carbon fuels for difficult-to-decarbonize sectors, supporting decarbonisation efforts across industry and energy systems.
What exactly is the story behind the company name?
It’s a name that stands out and is 20 years old now, so it has lasted the test of time and reflects more than two decades of building and operating renewable energy infrastructure. The concept is that often the best time to catch a fish is after a storm or in the storm, not when it’s calm and sunny.
That correlates to the energy transition. As a developer, it’s about navigating the ebbs and flows of building a successful project and company, and being strong-willed enough to take risks and push through challenges to ultimately get the prize.
How does StormFisher’s e-methanol production methodology compare with conventional methods?
We are principled in making molecules that have buyers today. Methanol is already a top-five globally traded chemical, but it’s traditionally produced from natural gas and carries significant emissions. The same applies to hydrogen, which is typically produced by cracking natural gas—so we start with hydrogen as the building block for methanol. To make hydrogen, you need water and a lot of electricity, and if that electricity is dirty, you’re not solving the emissions problem—you might as well produce grey hydrogen. But with renewable electricity, you get clean hydrogen.
Hydrogen has strong applications—ammonia, refining, steel—but it’s difficult and expensive to transport, requiring cryogenic conditions. By combining clean hydrogen with CO₂ through a catalytic process, you can produce e-methanol or e-methane and build higher-value molecules like sustainable aviation fuel. In our case, we use renewable electricity to produce hydrogen and pair it with biogenic CO₂ from sources like ethanol plants or landfill RNG. The result is a stable molecule with established safety standards and existing infrastructure, transportable by rail or ship and usable globally.
Following the acquisition of the Québec site last year, you’re on the path to developing what could become one of North America’s first commercial-scale e-methanol facilities. What do you project in terms of production volumes and economic contribution?
The nice part is we’re not the first — there are already projects globally producing e-methanol. A lot of players start as technology developers and then try to build projects — we’re taking the opposite approach. We have one of the most advanced projects in North America, but we’re not a technology company; we’re technology agnostic. That allows us to pick proven, high-competence, off-the-shelf technologies and build projects around them, rather than developing the technology ourselves.
Our most advanced project is in StormFisher Varennes, Quebec, about 30 minutes southeast of Montreal. It’s designed to produce roughly 70,000 tons of e-methanol annually, with around 100 megawatts of electrolysis. We’re in advanced engineering and final vendor selection, aiming to advance early next year and target COD in early 2029.
You’ve chosen to target difficult-to-decarbonize sectors like shipping and aviation. How would you characterize the state of current demand, not just potential?
When we launched the hydrogen business in 2022, the landscape was very different. Everyone was becoming a developer, driven largely by the IRA, with IPPs, oil and gas, petrochemicals, and traditional hydrogen players all entering. Since then, the US policy shift has settled the market, and the headwinds are allowing real projects to rise. You’re now seeing projects reach FIP and COD globally—positive progress, even if not at 2022 expectations. Tonnage forecasts were too high, but momentum is real—over 200 methanol-capable ships are being ordered.
That gives me confidence. When you compare fuel demand from those ships to what even large projects produce, the transition is clearly happening—it just takes time. Many sectors can’t electrify and need molecules, particularly for high heat and long-distance transport. Maritime is a key driver, supported by European policy and a broader industry push toward methanol as a future-proof fuel.
Early momentum around hydrogen and e-fuels saw many new entrants entering the space, but it has slowed. Were ambitions simply too high, or are you now observing a genuine pullback across the industries and markets you track?
It’s similar to the early days of wind, solar, and storage—people underestimate the complexity. These are large, sophisticated infrastructure projects with major capital requirements. Many new entrants lacked experience: some came from oil and gas or grey molecules without understanding electricity requirements, while others came from power without understanding molecules or end-use.
There was also a rush driven by IRA hype. It took a few years for the market to mature, and now the players who understand how to develop these projects remain. At the same time, hyperscale AI data centers emerged in 2023–2025, drawing capital toward faster, proven markets. Hydrogen is more complex, so some investors shifted focus.
You recently commissioned a report on policy design around fuels like e-methanol. What needs to change in policy design for projects like yours to be financeable at scale?
It can be challenging to understand why certain policies are designed the way they are. Canada has historically tried to pick early winners by specific companies, regions, or projects. Then, frameworks get built around those regions or projects, which are all then tied to that structure, rather than taking a coordinated, national approach. In contrast, the US IRA creates a framework where, if you qualify, it doesn’t matter who you are. In Canada, policy has often been based on influence, built around known projects rather than applied universally across developers. If we succeed, the market should decide—not the government.
That’s where Canada has stumbled, while markets like the US have done well in attracting investment. We’re a big country, but in some ways we’re small. Any large infrastructure project in a region becomes a major event. On the East Coast, for example, early clean ammonia projects represent significant capital for communities, which carries political weight at both federal and provincial levels. That dynamic shapes policy early.
StormFisher Varennes is your lead project, but it sits within a broader pipeline you’re developing. How should we think about the full scale of your operations and expansion plans through to 2029?
Getting the first project off the ground matters. We’ve built and operated projects before, and the key differential is the team coming from operations backgrounds.
We’re not looking to develop and flip; we think long term, designing for operations, maintenance, and durability. We want to be there for 20 years, with employees in place and strong relationships in the communities we operate in.
We’re focused on getting StormFisher Varennes across the line — as a 35–40 person team, it’s about proving we can deliver one project well, not trying to do six at once.
Canada has an extremely unique electricity system that most countries would dream of. It has significant baseload power, largely from hydroelectric resources in certain provinces, that is fully clean by international standards. While many countries are “dirtying” their grids with natural gas to meet demand, Canadian provinces are adding renewables — and in Ontario, nuclear — which makes it a leader in hydrogen despite higher costs.
That creates real opportunity. Provinces like Manitoba and British Columbia offer similar clean, baseload grids with competitive pricing, and we’re actively developing projects there — from direct hydrogen supply to industrial users to e-fuels production — alongside additional opportunities in Quebec beyond StormFisher Varennes.
The US and Canada are both central to the North American energy transition, but you’ve pointed to diverging dynamics in policy and investment conditions. How do you view the US market today relative to Canada, and what is materially different about Canada’s position this year?
We still believe in the US market. It’s the largest economy in the world, with tremendous renewable energy resources and a global lead in wind and solar. In certain states, there is world-class power pricing from a renewable standpoint, which is why we’ve spent a lot of time evaluating projects there. We continue to track those markets closely and know exactly where we would go if policy changes — we believe the US will come back strong; it’s a timing issue. Right now, Canada offers greater policy stability, making it more attractive for investment, whereas the US is more of a struggle.
Policy is a big part of what’s different in Canada, though there’s still room for improvement at both federal and provincial levels to better support industries like ours. We’re actively engaging with governments on what would unlock the sector — particularly moving away from picking winners and losers early, and instead creating a universal framework where projects succeed or fail on their own merits, with private markets deciding what works. At the same time, increased federal stability — especially compared to the start of the election period — is critical. When we’re raising capital, that policy certainty stands out globally, and it’s something Canada can leverage.
You’ve been building in this space for nearly 20 years. What still keeps that passion alive?
It’s not for everybody — you need a mindset that can handle the ups and downs — but we’re creative problem solvers when there’s no script, and I’m fortunate to have such a skilled, complementary group.
I also have a seven-year-old son, and he understands the energy transition is a good thing for the long term — not just for Canada, but the world. It won’t happen overnight, but we’re doing the right thing for the next generation. To be able to say I was part of the team that built something first of its kind is exciting. It’s not an app that’s here today and gone tomorrow — it’s a large infrastructure with long-term, lasting impacts on communities. That’s what Canada should be focused on.
