Calgary poised to join hydrogen sector with new energy hub
Calgary Region Hydrogen Hub aims to create 100 jobs, generate $75 million in private sector development
Calgary is set to join the hydrogen sector by opening a new energy hub in the area of the city.
The Calgary Region Hydrogen Hub (CRH2) aims to create 100 jobs and generate $75 million in private sector development, according to a release from Calgary Economic Development (CED).
The hub will be run by the Transition Accelerator, a Canadian charity focused on achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
CRH2 will work with Alberta's hydrogen producers and the businesses and facilities that will act as demand centres for hydrogen consumption, CED says.
The hub will focus on airports, heat and power, hydrogen corridors, industrial and municipal fleets and trains. CED says the project is more than two years in the making and builds on the success of the Edmonton Region Hydrogen Hub.
Alberta Innovates, CED, the City of Calgary and the federal government — through Prairies Economic Development Canada — have committed more than $3 million in funding to the new hub.
Brad Parry, president and CEO of CED, says the new hub will not only help grow energy innovation in Calgary, but also import it.
"We're going to become a centre where people can come and try new projects," he said.
"For us, it's an exciting piece to be almost like a magnet to draw more of that innovation happening right here in Calgary."
Parry says Calgary's hub will work closely with Edmonton's to drive Alberta forward as a leader in the hydrogen sector.
"We have been the energy capital of this country and will always be that," Parry said.
"We have the decision makers here, we have the talent here, we have the capital here and I think we have the chops to truly make a difference in that sector."
Zak Cunningham, CRH2 lead, says the head office for the hub will be located in downtown Calgary but work will be happening in and around the city.
"A hub is much broader than [a physical location]. It's really just connecting the dots between and within the city of Calgary and the region more broadly," he said.
"So, the activities of the hub kind of span all over the place within the region and they encompass the whole value chain."
Cunningham said another component of CRH2 will be to connect with Edmonton's hub by creating a corridor between the two.
"You start with the hub approach, developing some demand, aggregating demand within a region and then you want to connect that to another hub, right? And that's where a corridor approach comes in."