Canada’s ATCO to build H2 refuelling stations for CP Rail

Canada’s ATCO Group said May 4 it had entered into an agreement with Canadian Pacific (CP), Canada’s second largest rail service, to build two hydrogen production and refuelling facilities in Alberta.

The facilities, at CP’s Calgary and Edmonton railyards, will advance its hydrogen locomotive programme, which has its sights set on building North America’s first hydrogen-powered line-haul freight locomotive.

Each production and refuelling facility will include a 1 MW electrolyser and compression, storage and dispensing infrastructure for locomotive refuelling. The Calgary electrolyser will be powered, in part, by renewable electricity from CP’s existing 5 MW solar array at its Calgary headquarters.

Construction is expected to begin later this year, with production and supply of hydrogen expected to begin in 2023.

ATCO is actively developing several hydrogen projects in Canada and Australia, including in Fort Saskatchewan, near Edmonton, where it will blend 2% blue hydrogen into a portion of its local gas distribution grid.