Approximately 8,000 delegates (including energy executives, government officials and Indigenous leaders from Canada and around the world) attended the third annual Canadian Hydrogen Convention (CHC) which ran April 23 to 25 in Edmonton, Alberta. The CHC focused on how hydrogen will play a leading role and be a key enabler in Canada reaching its 2050 net-zero goals.
An overarching sentiment of CHC 2024 was that Canada remains uniquely positioned to play a critical role in the world hydrogen economy; however, the ability for Canada to capitalize on such opportunity will require rapid adoption of proposed incentives/supports and regulations to provide certainty and ensure Canadian competitiveness relative to other jurisdictions.
As in previous years, CHC was a forum for several significant hydrogen-related announcements including the following:
Building on topics covered at CHC 2023 (which we outlined in our previous blog, Key Takeaways from the 2023 Canadian Hydrogen Convention: Part 1), the following presents a snapshot of key themes emerging from the CHC 2024 strategic and technical sessions:
Canada's numerous comparative advantages in participating in the global hydrogen economy continue to include, among other factors: (1) feedstock/supply—having an abundance of natural gas that can be produced and converted to hydrogen sustainably (via CCS and other technologies), (2) labour—skilled workforce that can meet hydrogen project needs (building on existing skills and decades of innovation in production, processing and related operations), and (3) geology—led by Alberta, various provinces have ample geology to support safe, reliable and permanent carbon sequestration for blue hydrogen production.
Urgency for Canada to unlock export opportunities was a recurring theme of CHC 2024.Japan, South Korea and other Asia Pacific nations were recognized as representing vast long-term demand/hydrogen offtake sources4, but such end-use markets can only be accessed by Canadian hydrogen/ammonia producers if necessary supply chain infrastructure is developed, particularly including rail and West Coast port components. Such supply chain build-out and development will require decisive, timely and tangible commitments from provincial and federal governments (e.g., in the form of passing currently tabled legislation for clean hydrogen, CCUS and other related investment tax credits5), which will in turn enable proponents across the supply chain network to invest capital required to support final investment decisions, and advance key commercial agreements, including evaluations of potential Indigenous partner equity transactions6.
The sharing of technologies, innovations and international collaboration around hydrogen, between governments and the private sector/industry, was frequently cited as being a key ingredient to achieving global net-zero by 2050 and other emissions-related targets. Representatives from Europe (including Polish President Andrzej Duda), Asia, Africa and South America in attendance at CHC 2024 provided a wide array of examples of existing and potential hydrogen partnership opportunities to drive decarbonization initiatives involving hydrogen, including in areas such as steel/manufacturing, public transit, long-haul transport and aviation (where hydrogen was cited as being most suitable for medium haul flights and drones). Organizations in hydrogen producing regions, such as Edmonton Global and the Edmonton Region Hydrogen HUB in the case of Alberta, were identified as playing a critical role in making connections required to facilitate relationships between developers, potential inbound investors and various stakeholders.
Digitalization of critical infrastructure across the hydrogen value chain was emphasized to a greater degree at CHC 2024 than in past years. Scaling up digitalization efforts rapidly was cited as being critical for Canada to maintain pace with other jurisdictions in respect of the continued development of hydrogen networks. Specific areas in the hydrogen value chain identified as being suitable for digitization included technology selection, optimization (including integration of renewable power sources), inclusion of predictive AI, and safety/systems monitoring.
To discuss potential hydrogen opportunities, please contact the authors or the Bennett Jones Energy practice group.
5 See our blog on the Alberta Carbon Capture Incentive Program: https://www.bennettjones.com/Blogs-Section/Government-of-Alberta-Unveils-Further-Details-Regarding-the-Alberta-Carbon-Capture-Incentive-Program
6 See our blog on the recently announced federal Indigenous Loan Guarantee Program, which could support industry-Indigenous community equity partnerships in hydrogen infrastructure: https://www.bennettjones.com/Blogs-Section/Government-of-Canada-Unveils-Details-Regarding-New-Federal-Indigenous-Loan-Guarantee-Program