HTEC has opened a commercial heavy-duty hydrogen fueling station located at the Chevron Commercial Cardlock, on Tsawwassen First Nation industrial lands in Tsawwassen, B.C. The new facility is capable of fueling Classes 7 and 8 trucks as well as other hydrogen-powered commercial vehicles.

“Today we open what we believe to be the first 700-bar commercial heavy-duty clean hydrogen station, not only in Greater Vancouver, not only in B.C., but in the entirety of Canada,” said Marnie Wu, HTEC director of commercial network operations, during the June 18 opening ceremony.

HTEC’s Burnaby Clean Hydrogen Production Facility supplies the station with low-carbon hydrogen.

The site has a fueling capacity of up to 400 kilograms of hydrogen per day and is designed to support a range of applications, including hydrogen fuel-cell-electric trucks, diesel-hydrogen dual-fuel vehicles and hydrogen-powered buses.

The station will serve as a key component of HTEC’s broader Metro Vancouver hydrogen transportation network and will support an initial fleet of 12 hydrogen fuel cell trucks operating in drayage and freight applications, funded through the B.C. Hydrogen Truck Pilot Project and the B.C. Hydrogen Ports Project.

HTEC president and CEO Colin Armstrong said the project has been seven years in the making and represents a transition from pilot projects to real-world operations, adding the station’s fueling capability will help extend the range of hydrogen-powered trucks.

“As we move into really commercial operations, these trucks are going to operate in the real port, on real routes, with real customers, bringing hydrogen into everyday operation,” he said at the ceremony. “What I tell people is 700 bar allows trucks to go 700 kilometers; 350 bar allows the truck to go 350 kilometers, so you can see why we’re excited to get these trucks to places like Kamloops and Kelowna, and beyond.”

Among the first fleets participating is Harbour Link Container Services, which has been involved in hydrogen truck demonstrations at the Port of Vancouver for several years. Armstrong added that Triple Eight Transport is among the first fleets to operate hydrogen trucks, too.

“Very much a B.C. story”

Also present during the station’s unveiling was George Anderson, B.C.’s parliamentary secretary for energy and climate solutions, speaking on behalf of Energy and Climate Solutions Minister Adrian Dix.

Anderson said the station is part of a broader effort to build out a regional hydrogen transportation ecosystem, saying the province has supported the project through multiple funding programs.

This includes the $16.5 million through the Innovative Clean Energy Fund, which supported upgrades to the fueling station and the procurement of six hydrogen fuel cell electric trucks and $2.7 million worth of credits through the B.C. Low Carbon Fuel Standard Credits program.

He added that through the Commercial Vehicle Pilots Program, B.C. is providing up to $10.3 million to support the development of 29 heavy-duty hydrogen fuel cell electric trucks. These trucks will be leased out to organizations in the Lower Mainland, with fuel being primarily provided by the Tsawwassen station.

“I’m proud of the investments the province has contributed towards making this project a reality…This is a historic project that marks a significant milestone in the efforts to decarbonize a challenging sector such as heavy-duty transportation.”

Anderson also described the project as part of a larger “Greater Vancouver hydrogen hub” vision that combines hydrogen production, fueling infrastructure and vehicle deployment. He also said that the Burnaby electrolyzer, which opened last year — and is now supplying fuel for the Tsawwassen station — produces more than one tonne of hydrogen per day.

HTEC’s Armstrong added that this project is “very much a B.C. story,” adding, “the hydrogen is produced here, the infrastructure is designed and built here, and the expertise behind it largely comes from people and companies based in British Columbia.”