Edmonton hosts hydrogen fuel convention

Thousands of people in the Canadian hydrogen industry are in Edmonton this week as leaders in the alternative fuel sector share their tech.

Despite recent setbacks for hydrogen here in Alberta, industry leaders say it’s still the future of energy around the world.

“We can move from 13 countries providing the world’s energy to 90 per cent of the world providing its own,” said Greg Vezina, the CEO of Hydrofuel Canada Inc.

Over 100 industry leaders in hydrogen are gathering in downtown Edmonton this week, touting everything from transportation, energy production, to heating, and carbon capture.

Vezina is attending the conference from Toronto and is pitching smaller-scale hydrogen tech as the first steps to the world adopting it as a mainstream energy source.

“Using light to replace heat and electricity, is the answer for using energy, and using and storing hydrogen and ammonia is the only way to do it. There’s so many places where hydrogen works today, but it’s not sexy,” Vezina explained.

It comes as Alberta’s government announced a $3 million investment into a Calgary-based company that would convert wood chips and plant matter into hydrogen.

The province and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith have been promoting hydrogen, but the industry is not without its issues.

Earlier this year, a commercial hydrogen refuelling station 30 minutes south of Edmonton closed after only a year, after US-based hydrogen company Nikola filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Last year, the City of Edmonton also paused a planned hydrogen refuelling station for city vehicles and buses.

Despite that, industry players from around North America say Alberta is on their list.

“When we think about North America, and we think about the future of hydrogen and carbon capture, Alberta certainly comes up as one of the primary markets for us. We have representation up here that we don’t have in all the provinces,” said Todd May, the global business director for hydrogen at Baltimore Aircoil Company.

Alberta’s natural gas reserves and existing energy and oil and gas infrastructure, experts say, put us at an advantage for the evolving alternative energy.