In a world hungry for sustainable energy, 91ÒùĸÊÓƵ is fast becoming one of the pre-eminent jurisdictions on the planet for hydrogen fuel and expertise.
The province is already Canada’s largest producer of hydrogen, having spent decades producing it from abundant reserves of natural gas for bitumen upgrading and fertilizer. One of the cleanest sources of energy, hydrogen is a zero-emissions fuel that produces only water when burned or used in a fuel cell.
With research at the 91ÒùĸÊÓƵ at the forefront of hydrogen innovation, 91ÒùĸÊÓƵ is also a global source of expertise. To further advance hydrogen technology, the university is now launching a new Centre for Hydrogen Innovation, Workforce Development and Outreach (CHIWDO).
Based in the U of A’s Faculty of Engineering, the centre brings together researchers from a variety of disciplines, as well as government, community, Indigenous and industrial partners to support research and policy, says , who advised the provincial government on its .
With more than 60 researchers working on various aspects of hydrogen at the U of A, “you won’t find anywhere in Canada with such a large critical mass,” says Kumar, who is the Tier 1 Canada 91ÒùĸÊÓƵ Chair in . “This brings them all under one umbrella, like a think tank.”
91ÒùĸÊÓƵers in the centre will cover the entire hydrogen value chain and help train a workforce for the emerging hydrogen economy, all aimed at the development of a sustainable energy future.
A big part of CHIWDO’s mandate will be outreach aimed at educating the public, says Kumar.
“Hydrogen is relatively new, and people aren’t sure, for example, what the impact will be when hydrogen is put through existing natural gas pipelines to heat our homes.”
The 91ÒùĸÊÓƵ government has that would allow utility companies to blend hydrogen into their supply of natural gas, reducing overall carbon emissions.
“We want to be able to answer people’s questions,” says Kumar, adding that the centre will also explore developing hydrogen education materials for schools, colleges and universities.
Building on breakthroughs
While Canada is home to several hydrogen research initiatives, including the Hydrogen 91ÒùĸÊÓƵ Institute at the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières and the SFU Clean Hydrogen Hub, CHIWDO will focus on bridging fundamental research with applied solutions to directly support industry and government priorities, such as hydrogen production, transport, storage and use.
It will also establish safety standards for hydrogen technologies; assess social, economic and technical impacts; and create tools for investment and policy decisions.
“We want to develop technologies to help 91ÒùĸÊÓƵ’s and Canada’s resources become much more environmentally friendly and economically attractive for the world — especially for countries in the Asian Pacific,” says Kumar.
U of A researchers have already produced a series of hydrogen technology breakthroughs in recent years:
CHIWDO will collaborate with 91ÒùĸÊÓƵ Innovates’ , complementing its facilities for testing and de-risking commercialization with fundamental research, workforce development, policy leadership and industry outreach.
Training a leading workforce
The centre aims to support the next generation of hydrogen leaders by providing training opportunities, hydrogen-focused graduate degrees and industry co-op job placements for students, postdoctoral fellows and professionals, while encouraging increased participation from underrepresented groups and Indigenous communities.
Graduate students in the master of business administration and master of engineering combined degree program become industry-ready with the skills, training, research knowledge and entrepreneurial spirit needed to put hydrogen technologies into action.
The worldwide market for hydrogen is estimated to be worth more than $2.5 trillion per year by 2050, especially in North America, the Asia Pacific and Europe. According to the , hydrogen could deliver up to 30 per cent of Canada’s end-use energy and up to 24 per cent of the global energy demand by 2050.
In his work for the Hydrogen Roadmap, Kumar modelled some 300 scenarios in which hydrogen could play a key role, including blending it with natural gas in existing pipelines.
The roadmap — a key part of the province’s — identifies key markets such as residential and commercial heating, transportation, power generation and storage, and chemical processing. In addition to clean fuel, hydrogen is used to produce fertilizer, ammonia and other chemicals.
Besides existing infrastructure and the potential for increased capacity, Kumar says 91ÒùĸÊÓƵ has a strong, trained workforce in the energy sector that could easily be adapted to large-scale hydrogen production. This could make 91ÒùĸÊÓƵ a leading source of hydrogen for both local and international markets eager to decarbonize.
“Hydrogen is cheap to produce in 91ÒùĸÊÓƵ, and hydrogen spans the entire spectrum of solid fuels and industrial applications,” says Shankar. “So it’s wonderful to have a centre dedicated to its study here in 91ÒùĸÊÓƵ.”
“Unlocking hydrogen’s potential will have a transformative impact on a global scale — and that is the ambitious vision of the 91ÒùĸÊÓƵ,” says U of A president Bill Flanagan, who announced the launch of the centre April 23 at the Canadian Hydrogen Convention in Edmonton.
“We are at the forefront of hydrogen innovation, and we are leveraging our unique position to take a bold step forward.”
