Government of Alberta releases its plan on how to build a lower emission energy future with hydrogen
The Government of Alberta (GOA) released its Hydrogen Roadmap, which is intended to play a key role in Alberta’s Recovery Plan. The roadmap outlines Alberta’s path to building a provincial hydrogen economy and accessing global markets. To create the roadmap, the GOA considered advice from industry, academia, municipalities, Indigenous organizations, and non-government organizations. Stakeholders advised of key requirements needed to enable a hydrogen economy in Alberta. These requirements helped produce policy direction which the GOA will follow to ensure Alberta takes a measured approach in clean hydrogen development that drives global transition from pilot and demonstration stages to scale up, while playing a role in ensuring public safety and regulatory harmonization across the supply chain. The policy actions are as follows:
- Build new market demand: Establishing new hydrogen demand outside of its traditional use as industrial feedstock will be critical to move into new markets.
- Enable Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS): In order for Alberta to realize a clean hydrogen economy, CCUS needs to be in place to facilitate cost-effective, large-scale production. Although initial CCUS infrastructure is currently in place, the GOA is considering enhancing competitiveness by increasing CCUS accessibility to various industries across the province.
- De-risk investment: Alberta’s support to de-risk investment is focused on working in partnership with industry and other governments to enable new clean hydrogen production, improve access to capital, and consider establishing a hydrogen trading hub.
- Activate technology and innovation: Research and innovation are needed to prove and scale up emerging clean hydrogen technologies.
- Ensure regulatory efficiency, codes, and standards: A performance-based regulatory framework will allow hydrogen markets to move forward while reducing risk.
- Lead the way and build alliances: Public-private partnerships and government-to-government relationships are essential to advance the hydrogen economy, send coordinated signals to investors, and build public awareness and understanding.
- Pursue hydrogen exports: Alberta will need to have an established export supply chain in place to benefit from the international export opportunity.
The report highlights how these policy actions will be implemented in the short term (2021 – 2023) and the long term (2023 and beyond). In 2025, the GOA will revisit the policy actions and revise them to reflect the 2030 – 2050 timeline.
The 2021 RMA Fall Convention will feature a workshop titled Floating to the Future: Hydrogen in Alberta on November 24 at 3:30 pm. Workshop panelists include:
- Erin Gregg – Assistant Deputy Minister, Strategy and Market Access Division, Alberta Energy
- Alanna Hnatiw – Mayor, Sturgeon County
- Gregg Caldwell – Director of Utility Hydrogen Strategy, ATCO
This workshop will give members an opportunity to learn more about the Hydrogen Roadmap, how hydrogen can benefit municipalities, and ask questions to panelists.
Alex Mochid
Policy Advisor
780.955.4085
alex@RMAlberta.com
Wyatt Skovron
Manager of Policy & Advocacy
780.955.4096
wyatt@RMAlberta.com