Alberta sees C$20mn investment in 18 hydrogen projects

The Alberta Hydrogen Centre of Excellence, launched by Alberta Innovates in April 2022, said February 21 it would award C$20mn to 18 projects in its first funding competition to advance innovations in hydrogen.

Among the successful projects is a 100% hydrogen community in Strathcona County, just outside Edmonton, being planned by utility Atco Gas and homebuilder Qualico.

A C$2mn contribution from the Centre will help Atco and Qualico demonstrate the feasibility and contribute to the design of the community of Bremner in Sherwood Park. Bremner will be home to 85,000 residents and to commercial and industrial businesses, all powered by hydrogen – a Canadian first and the largest project of its kind in the world.

“The development of pure hydrogen communities could be the province’s most cost-effective pathway of decarbonising home heating, leveraging Alberta’s existing natural gas infrastructure and the expertise of Albertans – a true win-win for Alberta,” Atco Gas president Jason Sharpe said. “Building on our hydrogen expertise at home and abroad, Atco is eager and ready to bring the innovation and technical know-how needed today to successfully ensure projects like Bremner become a reality.”

Atco was also awarded about C$876,000 for its Fort Saskatchewan Operations Centre, where it is implementing a project to blend hydrogen into a small part of the local distribution system.

Other successful projects in the competition will examine the safe and effective use of pipelines for hydrogen transmission, the conversion of heavy-duty long-haul trucks to dual-fuel capabilities, and advances in methane pyrolysis technologies to produce clean hydrogen from natural gas.