13-07-2023

Air Products to supply hydrogen and fueling technology to Edmonton International Airport

Air Products, the world’s largest producer of hydrogen and a first-mover in energy transition projects, today announced that it has been selected by Edmonton International Airport as the hydrogen and technology provider for Alberta’s first hydrogen fuel cell passenger vehicle fleet.

Under the agreement, Air Products will station a mobile hydrogen refueler at the airport to provide hydrogen for the fleet of Toyota Mirai hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. The airport will begin with a fleet of five hydrogen fuel cell vehicles to be used by employees and plans to expand the fleet to as many as 100 cars to serve as a taxi service at the airport. Fueling of the vehicles will begin next week.

Myron Keehn, President and CEO of Edmonton Airports, including Edmonton International Airport, made the announcement today during a luncheon with Toyota Canada, where they unveiled plans to partner to create the Province’s first hydrogen fuel cell passenger vehicle fleet.

“Air Products is proud to support Edmonton International Airport in this first-mover project to establish the first passenger hydrogen fuel cell vehicle fleet in Alberta,” said Eric Guter, Air Products’ Global Vice President, Hydrogen for Mobility. “Access to clean hydrogen fueling infrastructure is key to the energy transition and efforts to decarbonize transportation. Air Products’ innovative and efficient mobile fuelers will accelerate the use of hydrogen as an emissions-free transportation fuel as permanent hydrogen infrastructure is built in Western Canada.”

Earlier this year, Air Products announced plans to build the first commercial-scale hydrogen refueling station in Edmonton. The multi-modal station, which will serve heavy-duty and light duty vehicles will be located near Air Products’ net-zero hydrogen energy complex under construction in Edmonton.

The new Edmonton station, scheduled to open in 2025, will include two hydrogen refueling lanes with dispensers for heavy-duty vehicles such as commercial and municipal trucks, and Air Products’ own truck fleet. In addition, the station also will have two fueling positions for light-duty hydrogen fuel cell cars. The hydrogen refueling station is supported in part by $1 million (CAD) in funding from Natural Resources Canada’s Zero Emission Vehicle Infrastructure Program.

Air Products works across all facets of the hydrogen value chain, including production, distribution, storage and dispensing and has been a pioneer in hydrogen fueling for decades. The company operates the world’s largest hydrogen pipeline system, located in the U.S. Gulf Coast, and is a world-class liquid hydrogen supplier. Air Products has hands-on operating experience with over 250 hydrogen fueling station projects in 20 countries and the company’s technologies are used in over 1.5 million fueling operations annually.

“With abundant natural resources and a collaborative approach between government and business, Canada is well-positioned to be a global leader in the clean energy future,” said Rachel Smith, Air Products Vice President and General Manager, Canada. “We are proud to build on Air Products’ investment in the Edmonton region that will help accelerate the use of hydrogen as an emissions-free transportation fuel across western Canada.”   

Air Products has invested heavily in the Edmonton region and is currently building a transformative new $1.6 billion (CAD) net-zero hydrogen energy complex. The hydrogen production complex will use an advanced process technology that enables the cost-effective capture of more than 90 percent of carbon emissions for permanent sequestration safely underground. The facility will also include a world-scale hydrogen liquefaction facility which will help to accelerate the use of hydrogen as emission-free transportation fuel across western Canada. In addition, to avoid the indirect emissions associated with using grid electrical power, the project includes a 100 percent hydrogen-fueled power generation unit that has the capability to export clean power to Alberta’s grid.

The complex also will be integrated with neighboring Imperial Oil Limited’s new renewable diesel facility, using innovative engineering. Imperial will produce renewable diesel from locally sourced non-petroleum feedstocks, using a process that produces a biogenic renewable off-gas (ROG) by-product. This ROG will be used as a feedstock within the Air Products hydrogen complex, displacing natural gas and further enhancing the overall carbon emissions profile. The combination of utilizing a renewable feedstock and power export more than offset any emissions not directly captured to produce hydrogen on a net-zero basis.

This new production facility adds to Air Products’ presence in Edmonton. Air Products already operates three hydrogen production facilities, as well as a 55-kilometer hydrogen pipeline supplying customers in industries including refining, petrochemical and others.