This marks an essential milestone for the Canadian province.
Particularly, the launch of the business hydrogen station is a serious milestone within the 5,000 Hydrogen Car Problem. The H2 refueling station, which was unveiled by Blackjacks Roadhouse within the Edmonton Metropolitan Area, marks the start of an expanded hydrogen fueling community throughout Western Canada.
Assembly the 5,000 Hydrogen Car Problem.
Constructing a hydrogen station community throughout Western Canada is important to the 5,000 Hydrogen Vehicle Challenge’s main goal. The aim is to get 5,000 hydrogen-powered or dual-fuel-hydrogen automobiles on the roads in Western Canada. An goal it plans to satisfy by 2028.
Reaching this aim would require huge funding into fueling infrastructure and supporting tech. Past that, attaining the aim can be depending on acquiring the automobiles required to sustainably transition the western a part of the nation’s business transportation sector to hydrogen.
Nikola Corp. provided the hydrogen station via its HYLA brand.
The commercial hydrogen station in the Edmonton region is a HYLA fueling station. The station will be set up in a key transportation corridor that links Calgary and the Edmonton region, Alberta’s two largest urban centers. This corridor is along Highway 2 in Leduc County, Alberta. It is one of Western Canada’s busiest highways. Around 96,000 vehicles pass by Blackjacks Roadhouse daily.
Alberta authorities celebrates first privately-owned hydrogen gasoline station – Picture Supply: CityNews YouTube Video – 2:17
The H2 station will help to meet the fueling requirements of the Nikola hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles intended for the Canadian market. It will also make sure the refueling experience for hydrogen vehicles in the Edmonton region is seamless and reliable.
The current station is a HYLA modular fueler that uses a 700-bar pressure-fill system. As the demand for hydrogen grows, the plan is to replace the modular fueler with a permanent facility and relocate the modular fueler to expand the HYLA fueling network across the province.
Alberta wants to accelerate the hydrogen economy, but can it?
Alberta, the main producer of hydrogen in Canada, believes that establishing infrastructure for hydrogen stations will assist speed up the hydrogen financial system within the Edmonton area and past, making it doable to satisfy evolving demand. The Edmonton area, particularly, is reportedly “moving aggressively” to benefit from Canada’s hydrogen financial system.
However, while one commercial station is a decent jumping off point, it remains to be seen if building this network will happen or be nothing more than a pipe dream. As recently reported by Hydrogen Fuel Newsthe second largest city in Alberta put plans to build a hydrogen station on hold. This was due to limited funds that saw Edmonton opt for 20 diesel-powered passenger buses over the initial funding request for 40 new hydrogen-powered buses. Without the buses, there was no demand for the station and the project is currently on hiatus. If lack of funding is an issue, this could be a major hurdle in accelerating the city and province’s hydrogen economy goals.
Ready to test your knowledge on the most abundant element in the universe? Take our fun and engaging Hydrogen Quiz now!
