Edmonton Region launches Hydrogen HUB

by Today's Trucking

The Edmonton Region Hydrogen HUB launched on April 14 aims to kickstart the area’s low-carbon hydrogen economy. The initiative is backed by $1.2 million in funding from Western Economic Diversification Canada (WD), $600,000 from Alberta’s Industrial Heartland Association and $450,000 from the Province of Alberta through Emissions Reduction Alberta.

The HUB pictures a future for the Edmonton Region where buses, trains, heavy trucks, home heating and farm machinery all run on zero-emissions hydrogen fuel, an essential component of the new clean energy system. The region has established itself as a leader in Canada’s energy transition through the production, use and export of low-carbon hydrogen, ushering in a wave of clean energy jobs and ensuring a strong economic future.

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The HUB’s launch comes as countries set net-zero targets and identify hydrogen as a vital low-carbon fuel. (Illustration: iStock)

The HUB’s leadership team includes chair and Sturgeon County mayor Alanna Hnatiw, vice-chair and Enoch Cree Nation chief William Morin, Edmonton mayor Don Iveson, Fort Saskatchewan Mayor Gale Katchur, Strathcona County mayor Rod Frank, Lamont County reeve David Diduck and Alexander First Nation chief George Arcand Jr. The Edmonton Region Hydrogen HUB is also supported by The Transition Accelerator and Edmonton Global.

The HUB’s launch comes as countries around the world set net-zero targets and identify hydrogen as a vital low-carbon fuel. A final report released by Alberta’s Industrial Heartland Hydrogen Task Force outlined that Canadian hydrogen has a wholesale market potential of up to $100 billion a year and identified the Edmonton Region as the best launch point for a pan-Canadian hydrogen economy.

The region is well-positioned for success because it has one of the lowest hydrogen production costs in the world, existing experience in hydrogen production, a vast network of pipeline infrastructure, and suitable and existing sites for carbon capture, utilization and storage which are necessary to upgrade natural gas into hydrogen for use as a low-carbon fuel.

The report also found that the best way to quickly achieve sufficient scale for a strong Canada-wide hydrogen economy is through the creation and deliberate connection of regional hydrogen HUBs across the country.

The Edmonton Region Hydrogen HUB is an example of an early hydrogen deployment HUB as outlined in the Hydrogen Strategy for Canada and will serve as a blueprint of how to accelerate a strong regional hydrogen economy that can be replicated in other regions across the country with low-cost, low-carbon hydrogen.

The HUB’s launch is a signal that work to establish a hydrogen economy in the Edmonton Region has begun. With support from The Transition Accelerator, planning is underway for over 25 potential projects related to the supply, delivery and use of low-carbon hydrogen. Potential projects include the use of hydrogen for municipal and commercial vehicle fleets and home and industrial heat and power.


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