The Province of British Columbia is investing $4 million into the BC Hydrogen Ports Project (BCH) in support of the province’s decarbonization goals.
Announced on Friday, the project features project leader HTEC’s clean hydrogen advanced fueling station, which will cater to heavy-duty hydrogen powered vehicles in port operations. The hydrogen refueling station will be situated at a Parkland Corporation cardlock site situated on Tsawwassen First Nation territory. HTEC will also oversee the provision of clean hydrogen for the project.
The project has received funding from two CleanBC initiatives. These initiatives include the Commercial Vehicle Pilots (CVP) program and the Advanced Research and Commercialization program. Additionally, the consortium members have also made substantial investments in the project.
Both the CleanBC Go Electric CVP Program and the Advanced Research and Commercialization program aim to speed up the use of zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) for businesses, governments, and communities in B.C. This program supports adopting ZEV technology and building the needed infrastructure.
Ports usually release a significant amount of greenhouse gases and harmful substances into the air. However, there is a test project underway to address this issue, which will reduce emissions by an amount equal to what 110 tonnes of carbon dioxide would produce in a year. This reduction is equivalent to the energy consumed by approximately 21,400 households in a year.
“We’re working to reduce emissions in B.C.’s commercial transport sector, which accounts for about 60 per cent of transport emissions and 25 per cent of total provincial emissions,” said Josie Osborne, Minister of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation.
“Hydrogen will be essential in helping B.C. make the transition to cleaner energy solutions as we work toward meeting legislated greenhouse gas reduction targets.”
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British Columbia is home to over half of Canada’s hydrogen companies
British Columbia is home to over half of Canada’s hydrogen and fuel-cell companies, and the province contributes approximately 60 per cent of the total research investments dedicated to the development of hydrogen and fuel-cell technologies.
With the potential to curtail the province’s emissions by a substantial 7.2 mega tonnes of carbon-dioxide equivalent annually by the year 2050, hydrogen holds significant promise in contributing to emission reduction goals.
“Advancing low-carbon hydrogen projects, while deploying hydrogen electric heavy-duty vehicles and hydrogen-fuelling infrastructure to support them, will help propel the drive to a zero-emissions future,” said Colin Armstrong, president and CEO of HTEC.
“We hope that this project will pave the way for similar actions across Canada in the future and help the country reach its net-zero goals.”
Some of the players in the sector consist of Ballard Power Systems Inc. (TSX: BLPD), St-Georges Eco-Mining Corp (CSE: SX) and Charbone Hydrogen (TSXV: CH).
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