Clean Energy Canada | Canada risks missing out on fast-moving hydrogen opportunity: report
October 8, 2020

VANCOUVER — Hydrogen is getting people talking. A Bank of America analyst recently compared the investment opportunity to that of smartphones before 2007. Already, 18 economies comprising more than 75% of global GDP are developing and rolling out hydrogen strategies. 

With a Canadian hydrogen strategy expected this fall, will it be enough to ensure Canada keeps up in this global hydrogen race?

A new report by Clean Energy Canada, A New Hope, explores Canada’s hydrogen opportunity and the potential it holds both for our economy and as a climate solution.

Hydrogen has a number of unique advantages, particularly in sectors that are difficult to decarbonize like trucking, shipping, and the production of steel, fertilizer, and cement. 

Canada is among the top-10 global hydrogen producers, but most of this hydrogen is created using fossil fuels, making it part of the climate problem. Clean hydrogen—whether made with non-emitting electricity, in combination with carbon removal, or via other innovative technologies—remains a largely unrealized opportunity.

And yet Canada is among a small group of countries with the highest potential for exporting clean hydrogen, thanks to one of the least polluting electricity grids in the world and plenty of access to water.

Ultimately, hydrogen presents Canada with the opportunity to help sustain its role as an energy leader while cementing a role as a climate one. For more on the global hydrogen landscape, the benefits of the technology, and how Canada can position itself for success, read our latest report.

KEY FACTS

• The Task Force for a Resilient Recovery recommends allocating $1 billion to support Canadian leadership in clean hydrogen.
• The EU, South Korea and several other governments around the world are leveraging post-pandemic recovery funds to invest in clean hydrogen.
• BloombergNEF estimates that clean hydrogen could meet up to nearly a quarter of the world’s energy demand by 2050.
• The cost of producing emissions-free “green” hydrogen is projected to be on par with “blue” hydrogen (which uses natural gas in combination with carbon removal) by 2030 and cheaper thereafter.

• Canada is home to several successful clean hydrogen companies.
  • Ballard Power in Burnaby, B.C., is a developer and manufacturer of fuel-cell products. The company employs more than 700 people.
  • Proton Technologies in Calgary is developing a low-cost method for producing hydrogen that involves the underground combustion of remnant oil in abandoned reservoirs, keeping the emissions released during this process below the surface.
  • Hydrogenics in Mississauga, Ontario, is a developer and manufacturer of hydrogen generation and fuel-cell products. It was acquired by Cummins last year.

RESOURCES

Report | A New Hope