Brent Lakeman is being seconded from Edmonton Global to head the Edmonton Region Hydrogen HUB and shift that project into action mode.
"We call it an activation phase," Lakeman, the HUB's new executive director, who was the director of hydrogen initiative for Edmonton Global before the appointment, told Taproot. "We've done a lot of the techno-economic analysis. We understand the opportunities we have within the region. We've done some work in mobile transportation (and) heat and power opportunities. Now, we know we want to get moving on this."
The HUB launched in 2021 as a joint project from municipalities and First Nations across the region, including founding chair and Sturgeon County mayor, Alanna Hnatiw. Its goal is to advance the hydrogen economy in the Edmonton region. Edmonton Global and The Transition Accelerator, an energy-transition think tank, were founding supporters. The HUB began with $2.25 million from Western Economic Diversification Canada (which has split into Prairies Economic Development Canada and an equivalent in British Columbia), Alberta's Industrial Heartland Association, and Emissions Reduction Alberta.
Lakeman said the expectations and funding agreements from those original funders have been completed, and that the HUB is now shifting into its next phase. "(We want to) really ground it in our economic development opportunities we have within the region," he said.
What that means, Lakeman said, is that organizations including the Heartland Association and Edmonton Global will now drive the HUB — though just how the organization will be structured is not something he will share just yet. When it comes to activation, Lakeman said fuel cells for vehicles and new uses for hydrogen are things to keep on top of, but there's an immediate opportunity for "companies that don't always think of themselves as a hydrogen company" to be engaged.
"I think about what we've done, historically, in oil and gas and all that manufacturing and fabrication that goes on to support those projects," he said. "Maybe we can be part of some of these emerging hydrogen opportunities. It's not necessarily a dramatic pivot, in some cases, to start manufacturing equipment for these transportation systems that we might see, because we will be an early mover, and I think there's maybe some early mover advantages to start getting our companies prepared."
Manufacturing for the hydrogen industry was the focus of a recent symposium in Nisku, co-hosted by the HUB. Companies with existing work in hydrogen sent speakers. Among them were Aurora Hydrogen, which recently shared an update on a novel demo facility; Diesel Tech Industries, which showcased the world's first Class 8 truck powered by cryo-compressed hydrogen with Verne in the fall; and Calgary's Innova Clean Tech, which works on both hydrogen and graphite, and is building a pilot facility in Sturgeon County.
One ongoing project the HUB works on is the 5,000 Hydrogen Vehicle Challenge, which kicked off in 2023. Its goal is to get 5,000 hydrogen- or dual-fuel vehicles on the road in Western Canada by 2028. Lakeman doesn't have an exact figure on the present number, but pointed to Air Products, which is building hydrogen refuelling stations along major transportation routes, as a sign of progress.
Not every refuelling station succeeds, however. Last March, the City of Edmonton scrapped its plans for one. That same month, the first commercial hydrogen refuelling station in Alberta opened at Blackjacks Roadhouse in Nisku, with funding from PrairiesCan and fuel provided by Nikola Corp.'s HYLA brand. However, on Feb. 19, Nikola filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, a little over a year after its founder was sentenced to four years in prison in New York for fraud related to the company's technology.
"We're watching Nikola, we're in communication with them," Lakeman said. "At this point in time, I don't think that that (Blackjacks) station is really being able to be operational, unfortunately."
One of hydrogen's roles in the Edmonton region could be to fuel fleets of pickup trucks, said Brent Lakeman, the new executive director of the Edmonton Region Hydrogen HUB. He's pictured here in London, England, with a prototype of a truck that uses hydrogen. (Supplied)
Lakeman said he thinks the area surrounding Blackjacks is important because it includes the Edmonton International Airport and is part of the route between Edmonton and Calgary. However, he said he thinks there will be more hydrogen activity in the area in the future.
Speaking of the airport, it already has its own hydrogen refuelling station and a fleet of at least 100 Toyota Mirais, a hydrogen fuel-cell electric vehicle that Toyota called the first of its kind in 2015.
The Mirai has been criticized, primarily, because its drivers have difficulty accessing and affording hydrogen to power it, as a class-action suit in California claims. Additionally, 120 scientists, academics, and engineers urged the organizers of the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics to refuse the Mirais Toyota supplied because, they alleged, the car's emissions claims aren't realistic for consumer use. Toyota has also endured critiques for its climate lobbying.
"The Mirai gets attention because it is, I think, the most commonly sold hydrogen vehicle out there," Lakeman said. "California's had both some positives and some challenges with their fuel supplies over the past several years, so that's triggered a little bit of commentary around the Mirai, but I don't think it's specific to that vehicle."
In the last year, Toyota has announced a new version of its fuel-cell stack and rebranded a research and development office in California as its "hydrogen headquarters."
Lakeman said other hydrogen vehicles show promise. Hyundai's Nexo SUV and Honda's plug-in hydrogen CR-V are more recent entries to the market. On a business trip to London, England, Lakeman was intrigued by a Toyota pickup prototype that uses hydrogen.
"I get companies telling me, 'We would love to buy a hydrogen fuel-cell pickup truck, if one is offered,'" he said. "There's a lot of fleets with pickup trucks (in Alberta). They're all white, so maybe we can start to have a turquoise-coloured pickup truck out there to show (off) hydrogen ones?"
Lakeman's appointment to the HUB isn't the only hydrogen news from the region this month. Edmonton Global demonstrated its hydrogen supply chain mapping tool during the manufacturing event, and the HUB has signed a memorandum of understanding with Mitsui Canada to collaborate on the production, distribution, and use of hydrogen "in Canada and beyond."
In April, the Canadian Hydrogen Convention will run its main program at the Edmonton Convention Centre. It will include a technical track, a strategic track, an exhibition, and more. Lakeman is among the scheduled speakers.