Amid increasing demand for power generation, British Columbia’s energy minister says the province remains committed to expanding the power-intensive hydrogen industry.

When used in a fuel cell, hydrogen can produce power for transportation and heating, without emitting harmful byproducts like nitrogen oxide, hydrocarbons and particulate matter.

The provincial and federal governments both hope the element can offer a low-emissions alternative to fossil fuels, and have made significant investments in hydrogen production in B.C.

But producing low-emissions hydrogen requires a significant amount of renewable power — power that at the moment officials say B.C. cannot offer on an industrial scale. Meanwhile, an expert says the industry faces challenges establishing production and transportation networks across the world.

These challenges have put the province’s largest hydrogen project on indefinite hold, and been an obstacle for the province’s emerging hydrogen industry.

Still, the new B.C. government remains committed to its hydrogen strategy, which describes the alternative fuel as an essential part of its plan to reach 2050 emissions targets.

A clean power store

Hydrogen gas stores energy, or can be channelled into a fuel cell. It is often produced when an electric current is passed through water.

If the electric current comes from a renewable source, it’s called “green” or clean hydrogen.

It can also be made from natural gas, in a process that still produces greenhouse gas emissions. If those emissions are captured, the fuel is called “blue” hydrogen — and if not, it’s “grey” hydrogen.

The provincial hydrogen strategy suggests the fuel can reduce B.C.’s annual emissions by 7.2 megatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (C02e) — which according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s website, is about equal to the annual emissions of 19 natural-gas-fired power plants.

WATCH: How green is ‘green’ hydrogen?

It also suggests B.C. has the potential to produce 2.2 million tonnes of hydrogen annually, and position itself as a net hydrogen exporter, by 2050.

Another independent study produced in partnership with the province in 2019 says hydrogen will help B.C. achieve 54 per cent of its emissions-reduction goal between 2030 and 2050.

The province says hydrogen is a key part of its plan to meet the CleanBC target of producing 1.3 billion litres of renewable fuel by 2030, and a significant part of its plan to reach net zero in the next 25 years.

B.C. Energy and Climate Solutions Minister Adrian Dix said in an emailed statement to CBC News that the province still sees hydrogen as playing a “pivotal role” in sectors, like transportation, that are hard to decarbonize.

Dix said the province does not have specific targets for hydrogen, and its production in B.C. is driven by market conditions and demand.

“B.C. continues to create conditions to support the growth of its hydrogen sector,” he said, adding B.C. is a “stable market” for hydrogen investment.

Dix said the province is home to several innovative hydrogen projects, including a network of about 20 hydrogen refuelling stations, Simon Fraser University’s clean hydrogen research  hub, and Salish Elements and Xaxli’p Nation’s agreement to develop a 25-megawatt hydrogen production facility in the Squamish-Lillooet region.

But he said lack of stable, long-term demand and infrastructure to support hydrogen fuel and power generation is hindering the industry.

“As an emerging sector, hydrogen continues to face common challenges, not only here in B.C., but globally,” Dix said.

According to Gordon McTaggart-Cowan, a hydrogen utilization researcher at Simon Fraser University,  hydrogen power in B.C. is in a developmental phase .

But before the industry can bloom in B.C., he said the province would need cost-effective ways to ship hydrogen.

“Hydrogen is a wonderful fuel for many reasons, but unfortunately, it’s not particularly easy to move it around,” McTaggart-Cowan said, adding some researchers are interested in using ammonia to transport hydrogen.

The province would also need large-scale production facilities, and a robust international market with demand for the fuel, he said.

“B.C.  is doing a lot in terms of trying to close that gap …  so there’s support,” he said. “The big challenge, of course, is hydrogen production — making sure that there’s enough clean hydrogen available.”

A hydrogen hub

About 300 kilometres southwest of the newly-operational Site C Dam, and nestled at the intersection of two major B.C. highways, Prince George is perfectly positioned to become a hydrogen hub, according to the city’s mayor.

“With all the abundance of natural resources, and all the power available around us, it is natural that we will be the place to do more power generation during the energy transition,” said Simon Yu, adding that includes hydrogen production.

He said he envisions the city as a major hub for refuelling heavy-duty hydrogen vehicles, as well as a hydrogen-production powerhouse.

The provincial and federal governments have invested $150,000 each to help Prince George become a centre of hydrogen production and innovation.

The site’s proximity to Site C made it a perfect candidate for the Coyote Hydrogen Project, which would have produced 140,000 tonnes of green hydrogen and of ammonia — a compound that can store hydrogen for transportation — annually.

But in September, Fortescue, an Australian-based minerals company, said the province did not have enough power to run the project at an affordable price.

The project would have required about 1,000 megawatts of hydropower capacity to run — about 91 per cent of the planned capacity of the Site C dam, or enough to power the equivalent of 450,000 homes per year.

“As more people rely less on the grid, then the amount of green electricity might become more available,” Yu said. “But currently speaking, as a province, we are still in an electricity deficit.”

Yu said he predicts more capacity will become available as the province ramps up solar and wind projects across B.C.

Despite the project being put on indefinite hold, Yu remains hopeful the city can be home to a large-scale hydrogen production facility.

“Prince George’s position, in my mind, is not going to change at all, if not be strengthened,” he said.