Air Products will develop a network of commercial-scale multi-modal hydrogen refuelling stations across Canada after Alberta Innovates announces CAD $57m for hydrogen projects.
The network will stretch from Edmonton to Calgary, Alberta, designed to serve heavy-duty vehicles, including commercial and municipal trucks and buses, along with light-duty hydrogen fuel cell cars.
Situated along the Queen Elizabeth II Highway, the network is expected to support western Canada in reaching its goal of 5,000 hydrogen or dual-fuel vehicles deployed on the road in five years.
Air Products’ permanent hydrogen refuelling station in Edmonton is currently under construction and scheduled to be completed in 2025, supported with CAD $1m from Natural Resources Canada’s Zero Emission Vehicle Infrastructure Programme. A temporary hydrogen mobile refueller is currently at the site supplying customers.
The company has also implemented a mobile refueler at the Edmonton Airport to provide hydrogen to the facility’s fleet of Toyota Mirai fuel cell vehicles. It also operates a refueler located on Aurum Road which serves the Edmonton market.
Air Products agreed to continue investment in western Canada last year (2023) after it announced plans for the first permanent, commercial-scale station in Alberta. This facility is also anticipated to be completed by 2025, with a capacity of up to six tonnes of hydrogen per day.
Read more:Air Products reveals plans for ‘first’ commercial-scale hydrogen station in Edmonton
“Today, we build on that commitment with plans to build additional commercial-scale, multi-modal hydrogen refuelling stations, developing a hydrogen highway connecting Alberta’s two largest cities and enabling the continued development of the region’s hydrogen ecosystem,” explained Seifi Ghasemi, Air Products’ Chairman, President and CEO.
Rachel Smith, Vice-President and General Manager at Air Products, added, “Each of our state-of-the-art, high capacity, high-reliability stations will be able to fuel up to 200 heavy-duty trucks or 2,000 cars per day.”
Alberta Innovates revealed CAD $57m in funding would be awarded to 28 projects to advance the hydrogen economy in the region. Start-up Verne was one of the beneficiaries after it received CAD $2m to advance the development and demonstration of a Class 8 truck powered by cryo-compressed hydrogen (CcH2).
Read more: First-of-its-kind project in Canada to demonstrate performance benefits of CcH2 in trucks
