US industrial gases firm Air Products has announced it will build Alberta’s first hydrogen refuelling station alongside its planned C$1.6bn ($1.17bn) blue hydrogen production complex in Edmonton.

The refuelling station will have a capacity of 6t/d of hydrogen and dispensers for both heavy-duty vehicles and light-duty fuel-cell cars. In addition to supplying Air Products’ own truck fleet, the station will be open to retail customers.

Transport accounts for around 12pc of Alberta’s emissions. Trucks and other heavy-duty vehicles—considered difficult to electrify—make up the vast majority of new sales, with 12,310 sold in February 2023 compared with 1,124 passenger cars. And less than 1pc of registered personal vehicles in the province use alternative fuels to gasoline or diesel, which account for 79pc and 11pc respectively.

2025 – Planned startup for Air Products’ refuelling station

“This station is the next step in Air Products’ commitment to Edmonton and the province of Alberta and will serve as a model that can be replicated throughout Canada to grow the hydrogen economy, reduce emissions and assist Canada on its path to achieving net zero by 2050,” says Eric Guter, the company’s global vice-president for hydrogen mobility.

Air Products plans to bring the refuelling station online in early 2025, with its blue hydrogen plant due to start up in 2024.

The Edmonton production complex will use autothermal reforming to produce up to 165mn ft³/d of hydrogen, in combination with CCS technology capable of capturing 90pc of emissions. It is also set to be integrated with oil sands developer Imperial Oil’s renewable diesel facility in a nearby site, which will offtake 50pc of the hydrogen. Imperial’s facility will also produce biogenic off-gas that could be used to displace fossil gas feedstock at Air Products’ production complex.

Air Products has received a combined C$475mn in federal and provincial government funding towards the project. The company already owns and operates three large-scale hydrogen production plants in Alberta, as well as a 55km pipeline supplying refining and petrochemical customers in the province.

Meanwhile, Phoenix-headquartered Nikola has sold the Alberta Motor Transport Association one hydrogen fuel-cell truck and one battery-electric truck, as well as a mobile hydrogen refuelling unit, for use in its hydrogen commercial vehicle demonstration project. This project allows local carriers to use and test Class 8 vehicles to assess performance of hydrogen-fuelled vehicles based on Alberta’s roads, payloads and weather conditions. The trial will also explore potential challenges around fuel-cell reliability, infrastructure and vehicle cost and maintenance.

“Canada is a global climate leader with bold targets for emission reductions,” says Carey Mendes, president at Nikola Energy. “Nikola's zero-emissions trucks and its plans for building hydrogen infrastructure are aligned with Canada's goals and underpins a fair share of our publicly announced plans for 300[t/d] of hydrogen supply, with 60 hydrogen stations planned for across North America by 2026. This partnership is just the beginning of bringing hundreds of [fuel-cell electric vehicles] to Alberta and Canada.”

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Author: Polly Martin