Kenney announces $50M for research center at Canadian Hydrogen Convention in Edmonton

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Alberta Premier Jason Kenney announced Tuesday the government will put $50 over four years into a center million devoted to speeding up hydrogen sector development in the province.

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Speaking at the first-ever Canadian Hydrogen Convention in Edmonton, Kenney said the Clean Hydrogen Center of Excellence will help move projects from the initial proof-of-concept phase towards working prototypes and commercial success.

“Put simply, the center will act as an accelerator for promising hydrogen technologies being developed in the province,” said Kenney.

The 2022 Alberta budget committed $10 million in capital funding over two years to set up the center, which was first announced last November as part of the province’s hydrogen roadmap. The remaining $40 million in operating costs will come from Alberta’s Technology, Innovation and Emissions Reduction (TIER) fund, collected through a carbon tax on large emitters, to be spent by provincial agency Alberta Innovates.

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Kenney said he hopes the center will draw in an additional $150 million from other levels of government and the private sector.

Laura Kilcrease, Alberta Innovates CEO, said following Kenney’s speech the center won’t have a central facility, but will work out of several existing locations throughout the province, including C-FER Technologies and Innotech in Edmonton. Kilcrease wasn’t able to immediately provide an estimate of how many jobs will be directly created through the centre’s work, since it’s dependent on how many private-sector proposals come forward.

“I can tell you its (work) effectively started today. At this conference, we already have industry clients working with us or have come to us and we’re starting to design the projects with them,” said Kilcrease, adding the initiative will be looking at production, transportation, distribution, storage and carrier methods , and end-of-market hydrogen use.

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Natural gas and electricity associate minister Dale Nally said there isn’t a specific greenhouse gas emission reduction target associated with the centre, but its work will be an important factor in making Alberta a global hydrogen leader.

“It could be the next source of generational wealth for our province, and the chance to diversify and expand our list of responsible energy products,” said Nally. The UCP government estimates hydrogen to be a $2.5-trillion to $11-trillion industry worldwide by 2050.

It’s been focused on supporting the development of what is often called blue hydrogen, made from natural gas using carbon capture and storage, which has some carbon emissions.

Green hydrogen, made using renewable power, creates zero emissions.

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Kenney said Tuesday “clean” hydrogen can be produced in many different ways, but added the government is “agnostic” about the colour, preferring to allow the private sector to lead the way.

Alberta’s blue hydrogen is among some of the cheapest to produce in the world, and the province already leads the country in producing about 2.4 million tonnes of hydrogen every year. The UCP’s hydrogen roadmap includes a goal to begin exporting hydrogen by 2030.

The element has potential to decarbonize technology across many industries, including in blending with natural gas for lower-emission heating and power, in zero-emission vehicles that are difficult to electrify like heavy trucks.

Amit Kumar, professor of mechanical engineering and NSERC Industrial Chair in Energy and Environmental Systems Engineering at the University of Alberta, said Tuesday with Alberta’s resources, technology and workforce, the center will help mobilize different stakeholders.

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“You need all the parts of the economy to come together under one umbrella to make sure Alberta is a super power in hydrogen,” he said in an interview with Postmedia.

“There is an expectation that there will be more experts who would be involved in helping the government in terms of deciding on these projects,” he said.

NDP Opposition energy critic Kathleen Ganley said in a statement Tuesday other countries are moving towards the production of hydrogen and Alberta will need the right policy and investments to become a leader.

“Unfortunately, the UCP has dragged their feet and downplayed the potential of our hydrogen industry. They’ve even acknowledged they’re surprised by how quickly the industry has developed. To date, their hydrogen roadmap still remains short on details and this government needs to move quickly to capitalize on the excitement in this sector to ensure Alberta doesn’t fall behind,” said Ganley, adding if elected, the NDP would commit to achieving net -zero emissions by 2050.

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