Honda and Toyota join forces to expand hydrogen refueling infrastructure in Canada
January 31, 2019The two rival automakers are teaming up with the Canadian province of Quebec to bring an H2 infrastructure project to Montreal.
At the recent Montreal auto show, a Quebec-based hydrogen refueling infrastructure partnership project was jointly announced by Toyota Canada’s director of corporate strategy and innovation, Martin Gilbert, and Honda Canada’s VP of sales and marketing, Jean-Marc Leclerc. The newest hydrogen (H2) refueling station to be built in the province, will be developed on the south shore of Montreal.
Quebec’s abundance of hydro-powered electricity makes it an ideal spot to expand the H2 infrastructure.
The joint hydrogen refueling infrastructure project, which includes partnering with the government of Quebec, through Transition énergétique Quebec (TEQ), is expected to be completed at the end of this year.
The province is rich in hydro-powered electricity, making it a prime location for expanding hydrogen infrastructure. The new station will use this hydropower to electrolyze hydrogen from water, creating an on-site electrolyzer.
“To us, what’s most exciting is that the station will use an on-site electrolyser to turn Quebec’s abundant hydroelectricity into clean, sustainable H2 for fuel cell electric vehicles,” said Gilbert.
Honda and Toyota hope to promote their fuel cell-powered vehicles – Honda’s Clarity and Toyota’s Mirai – in the country, but the infrastructure needs to exist before hydrogen fuel vehicles can be a viable option for drivers in Canada.
The first hydrogen refueling infrastructure in Quebec is expected to be operational in February.
This second H2 station planned for Montreal follows a first that is already under development in Quebec City. This first station is a cooperation between Hydrogenics and Harnois Energies. Canada-based Hydrogenics will produce the necessary electrolyzer and Harnois Energies is one of the largest gas station chains in the province. This first station is expected to be operational next month.
Both this station and the new one that has been planned for Montreal will each produce about 200 kilograms of hydrogen per day. This is about equal to 50 H2 vehicle fill-ups.
Commenting on the joint hydrogen refueling infrastructure project, Leclerc stated: “this investment will create an environment where we can continue to test our products and educate Canadians on the vast potential of hydrogen-powered vehicles today knowing that mass adoption could take some time.”
October 2021 Update: Canada’s Hydrogen Refueling Infrastructure
Canada is a global leader in hydrogen fuel production, according to a report issued by the Government of Canada. It is among the top 10 producers in the world, with an established and growing hydrogen refueling infrastructure. The country produces an estimated 3 million metric tons of grey H2 per year, as of December 2020. The most commonly used production method is via steam methane reformation of natural gas without carbon capture utilization and storage (CCUS).
On December 22, 2020, Canada’s government announced its formal Hydrogen Strategy for Canada, which established H2 as a key component for reaching the country’s net-zero carbon emissions goal in 2050. The strategy made hydrogen news headlines both for being forward-thinking and because of the criticism it received for using natural gas to produce the H2 instead of renewable energy such as solar and wind power.
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Canada supplies 40% of US oil so perhaps there could be certain interests limiting a more widespread adoption. The cars will be available at low cost; however automakers will not ramp up production if no refueling stations exist.
Toyota is the EV laggard among the legacy car makers, so it’s logical to see them team up with Quebec, another ‘open-minded’ society when it comes to technology. I’m supremely disappointed however, because normally Quebec does something useful. Hydrogen is a Fossil Fuel, when it’s extracted from Hydrocarbons, to start. The infrastructure required is high tech, because the stuff is compressed to fantastic levels, in order to get enough into any container to be useful. It’s colourless, tasteless and odorless so leaks need meters and machines to be detected. At best, the system works for smaller, captive campuses, Toyota thinks the island of Japan is one. As an answer to the Climate Change problem, it’s a stupid distraction we don’t need.
Just read the literature. You can feel the sales job, it’s tangible because only highly misleading marketing will put these mistakes on the road.
TOYOTA, HONDA EV-Nachzügler? Das ist mir neu! Bis jetzt fahren deutsche Akku-Autos noch sehr lange mit KOHLESTROM. Ökologisch natürlich! Könnre man nicht langsam damit beginnen Schritt für Schritt in die Dekarbonisierung einzusteigen. Braucht man Autos mit Riesenakkus und Riesen-E-Motoren? Nur um 1.8 Personen zu Ladestationenwälder, langsam zu bewegen um sauschwere Akkus zu tansportieren? Da sind manche H2-Konzepte schon weitaus mehr schlüßig, nur Geduld ist eben nicht die Stärke mancher Autohersteller und deren Kunden. Offenbar kennt man hier bei uns keine Entwicklung diverser Techniken. So fährt man bewährte Verkehrkonzepte wegen BEV-Wahn förmlich an die Wand und nun? Wie soll dieser Wahnsinn denn weitergehen? Braucht man keine Diuesel mehr? Braucht man keine Zwischenlösungen? Braucht iregndwer Akkuautos mit der Power von Schwerlastwagen? Ist es nicht gute Strom in Form von Wasserstoff zwischenzuspeichern, der andernsfalls gar nicht gewonnen wird? Herry FORD: “Der Feind der Quelität ist die Eile”. Was bitte eilt den gar so sehr. Wer an den Schnell-Ladesäulen wartet, der hat doch Zeit sich wirklich zu informieren oder nicht?
Robert you are so wrong: hydrogen is not a fossil fuel. It is true that in some countries it has been manufactured from a petroleum feedstock for industrial purposes, but that does not mean that it cannot be manufactured from the worlds most abundant material: water. Hydrogen is already produced by the electrolysis of water in many countries, in particular in Germany. The electrolysis requires electric power and this can be taken from the power grid, which raises the question about what fuel generated the electricity in the power station, but this is the same problem for battery electric vehicles (EVs). At present most hydrogen for vehicles is produced where it is used to fuel a fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) either from the power grid during off peak demand or from solar or photovoltaics. As for the future, since you can refill an FCEV as fast as a gasoline or diesel vehicle, so you don’t have that problem of the long charging time of an EV; also you don’t have a huge weight of batteries to haul around. Then there’s the matter of where does the electric power come from to electrolyse the water, which is the same problem for EVs and FCEVs? Quite a lot is used from renewable sources during off peak demand, and for the rest, the holy grail of clean energy is nuclear fusion for which commercial devices using Tokamaks is about 20 years away. I suggest you have a look at how the major oil companies are starting to get into the hydrogen as fuel market, for example Shell here: shell.com/energy-and-innovation/new-energies/hydrogen.html
How much does the hydrogen weigh compared with the weight of the container. I wouldn’t be surprised if an empty container weighs 98% as much as a full container. Full would mean pressurized to a certain percentage of its bursting pressure because of a safety factor. Some materials have a better strength to weight ratio than steel but the container is still going have almost all of the mass. You could avoid high pressures with liquid hydrogen but then you would need very good insulation and you would still need to use it a certain rate to avoid loosing it.
Hydrogen is not a Fossil Fuel. Hydrogen fuel cells produce no tailpipe emissions and can be produced from solar so little CO2 emissions. So what are your concerns? Many more manufacturers are going the HFC route. In most cases EV technology is just an intermediary measure to get to full HFC production.
Geoff, I am being a smart arse, I would say it did qualify as a fossil fuel. It is the oldest and most abundant known element in the universe….lol
Hybrid tower power plant design is in process utilizes amplified solar wind and hydrogen separation for local electrical power production and distribution.
Only one molecule of oxygen per two molecules of hydrogen is needed for complete combustion. The 61,100 BTU per Cu Ft per Lb. Heat of Combustion produced by hydrogen in the presence of oxygen is the highest volume of combustible substances I’ve researched.