Alberta’s first hydrogen refuelling station removed after less than a year

Less than a year after it opened with much Government of Alberta fanfare in Nisku — 30 minutes south of Edmonton — the province’s first commercial hydrogen refuelling station was removed at the end of February.

Owners of the truck stop where the refuelling station was located tell CityNews it happened after the U.S.-based company who owned it filed for bankruptcy.

In March of last year, Alberta’s Premier Danielle Smith and cabinet members were on hand to celebrate the opening of the hydrogen refuelling station, with Alberta’s premier touting the alternative energy as a key part of the province’s alternative energy future.

In a phone call with CityNews, the owners of Blackjacks Roadhouse say that there was a lot of interest and use of the fuelling station.

The nearby Edmonton International Airport expanded their fleet of hydrogen cell vehicles, and despite a $500,000 investment from Nikola, the company who owned it, the U.S-based company struggled with regulatory approvals to open and use a portable hydrogen refuelling station.

The station was removed from the site at the end of February after Nikola filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy. The owner of that company was pardoned of fraud by U.S. President Donald Trump this month.

CityNews reached out to the Government of Alberta for a response on the hydrogen refuelling station closing but has not heard back at this time.