Three Alberta hydrogen projects in line for $8.2m in emission funds | Hydrogen News

Three hydrogen projects have won a combined CAD $11.4m ($8.2m) in funding from revenues collected by Alberta’s carbon pricing and emissions trading system.

The funding from government-backed Emissions Reduction Alberta (ERA) is part of a wider CAD $51m ($37m) investment scheme as the non-profit aims to advance clean technologies in the region.

The County of Newell’s Brooks Newell Hydrogen Hub is the biggest winner and will see CAD $5m ($3.6m) of its CAD $13.3m ($9.6m) price tag covered by the grant.

In its first phase, the project aims to build market demand for hydrogen transportation solutions through pilot programmes with regional trucking operators. In phase two, it will aim to build dedicated hydrogen production and refuelling infrastructure.

CAD $3.4m ($2.4m).was awarded to Quantiam Technologies’ blue hydrogen-based clean methanol project, which aims to produce 100 litres per day as feedstock for plastic production.

Calgary energy supplier Azolla Hydrogen will receive CAD $3m ($2.2m) for its methanol-to-hydrogen fuelling system for light-duty fuel cell vehicles.

Funding for the projects comes from Alberta’s 2020 Technology Innovation and Emissions Reduction (TIER) initiative, which raises cash through compliance payments made by large industrial emitters.

Launched in 2009, ERA redirects these revenues and, across TIER and predecessor industrial carbon-pricing frameworks, claims to have invested over CAD $1bn ($724m) in Alberta clean technology developments.

Despite natural potential for clean hydrogen production and use, Canada’s market ramp-up has been slow, with many projects struggling to progress beyond development.

The country has strong long-term potential for production and export, with much of its proposed large-scale capacity underpinned by wind-to-hydrogen projects in the Atlantic provinces of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador.