Randy Litun author of the feasibility study, Towards Hydrogen,  presents the findings at city hall on Wednesday (Tiffany Goodwein/CHATNewsToday)

By Tiffany Goodwein

Southeast Alberta advances establishment of Canada’s second Hydrogen Hub

Jul 6, 2022 | 5:58 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB– It’s an important regional milestone for southeastern Alberta. A new report released today reveals the region is well-positioned to be a hub for hydrogen, a zero-immission alternative that is key to Canada meeting its commitment to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions by the year 2030.

The report found that there are several components that could make southeast Alberta a major leader in hydrogen generation.

That’s because the region is home to two key elements: natural gas and clean energy.

The report also says exporting products would be easier due to the proximity to the Trans-Canada Highway and railway.

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The region also has three major companies that already produce hydrogen and have that expertise.

The report also highlighted the region’s strong potential for carbon capture utilization and storage (CCUS) and recommended acting quickly towards development in order to address existing emissions, establish blue hydrogen, and address regional demand.

Report author Randy Litun said southeastern Alberta has the potential to be among the lowest-cost producers of hydrogen in North America.

“If you look at the development of our infrastructure, a lot of the pricing centers around the Alberta AECO hub, which is located next to Suffield, so any access to gas usually starts at a pricing at that hub, plus the cost to get it where you require it. Since that hub is in the region, it will be a very minimal cost to access that gas,” Litun said.

But in order to get hydrogen here, Litun said there has to be a “Coalition of the Committed” comprised of local government, consumers, industries, and associations that work together to make hydrogen a priority, whether that’s through purchasing hydrogen vehicles for consumer or transport fleets, or doing what they can to support industry to come and generate hydrogen.

Brooks Mayor John Petrie says it is a commitment Brooks is ready to take.

“I think we are committed. As I said before it has to involve the provincial government, it has to involve the federal government. If we are serious about moving ahead on stuff . So we have to do it in baby steps and you talk to some people, that are like, ‘How far down the road is this? We want to see this now.’ We are planting a seed here, and it is kind of like a crop. We have to cultivate it, we have to weed it,” he said.

The City of Medicine Hat will host on a webinar for the public to learn more about Hydrogen on July 7 at 1:30 p.m. Those interested can register on the city’s website.