Since May, HTEC has announced plans to build three hydrogen production facilities, a liquefaction plant, a 20-station refuelling network and to launch a new subsidiary to deploy 100 hydrogen trucks. Its goal: to fast-track the adoption of hydrogen transportation by driving both supply and demand

Vancouver-based hydrogen technology provider Hydrogen Technologies and Energy Corp. (HTEC) is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year.

Since 2004, the company and its leadership — many with lengthy careers in B.C.’s rich hydrogen ecosystem — have steadily built a profile designing, developing and operating clean-hydrogen fuel production, infrastructure and supply solutions.

Even so, this summer has been something of a coming out.

In May, HTEC unveiled a $900-million initiative called H2 Gateway. Backed by a $337-million loan from the Canada Infrastructure Bank, the project calls for the development of a robust hydrogen production infrastructure alongside a network of 20 refuelling stations in B.C. and Alberta for medium- and heavy-duty industrial vehicles. (HTEC already owns the five existing light-duty vehicle hydrogen fueling stations currently operating in B.C.)

A month later, HTEC announced a plan to deploy 100 hydrogen fuel-cell electric trucks across B.C. To put that into play, it created a new, wholly owned subsidiary, Vehicle Leasing Corp. (VLC), which will manage vehicle deployment and help coordinate regional hydrogen supply and demand.

Along with the CIB’s $337-million loan, the H2 Gateway project’s remaining funding will come from a mix of private and public investors.

Self-sustaining ecosystem

HTEC’s vision is clear: to build a self-sustaining hydrogen ecosystem that not only supports but also accelerates the adoption of hydrogen fuel in Western Canada. By doing so, HTEC aims to unlock the full potential of hydrogen as a clean and sustainable energy source in the heavy-duty transportation sector.

To achieve this, HTEC is focusing on simultaneously increasing the production and supply of hydrogen fuel while boosting demand for that fuel by deploying hydrogen trucks and encouraging fleet partners to adopt the technology.

“The idea is to focus our energy and our efforts in a specific region and make sure that we build production, distribution stations and trucks evenly, so there’s a strong business case across all elements of the value chain,” says Jeff Grant, vice-president of transportation solutions at HTEC, who oversees the development and execution of these transportation projects, including fleet transition planning and vehicle leasing for heavy-duty fleet partners.

“That’s something … that the industry hasn’t always done well — matching supply and demand. We are trying to learn from those lessons and incorporate them into our Gateway.”

Putting the pieces together

HTEC will target the hydrogen supply challenge by ramping up its own hydrogen production under the H2 Gateway plan. This means constructing three new clean hydrogen production facilities in Burnaby, Nanaimo, and Prince George.

Additionally, a facility in North Vancouver will be built to liquefy 15 tonnes of byproduct hydrogen.

Each of the three production facilities is at a different stage of development, says Grant. The Burnaby plant, which will have a production capacity of one tonne per day, is slated to open in early 2025. Following that, the Nanaimo facility is scheduled to be operational by late 2026, and then the Prince George facility at a later date.

In parallel, the company is embarking on a plan to build and operate a network of 18 new hydrogen refuelling stations in B.C. and two more in Alberta. The stations will be constructed along major transportation corridors to provide reliable refuelling options for both heavy-duty commercial vehicles and light-duty personal vehicles that run on hydrogen.

Today, HTEC’s five existing stations (three in Metro Vancouver, one in Victoria, and one in Kelowna) only support a modest number of light-duty vehicles.

From gas to liquid

Once the first production facility, in Burnaby, is complete, the hydrogen will be transported as a gas to the three existing light-duty fuelling stations in Metro Vancouver and to a new heavy-duty station scheduled to open in early 2025.

Around the end of 2026, when the clean liquid hydrogen facility in North Vancouver is operational, HTEC plans to start transporting the hydrogen to its growing network of stations in liquid form.

“You start with gaseous hydrogen [as] that’s more applicable to lower volumes and light-duty stations. You move to liquid hydrogen when your volumes increase and the vehicle consumption is higher. Then it just becomes more economical [and] technically feasible to move hydrogen in larger quantities,” says Grant.

To put it into perspective, a gaseous hydrogen trailer typically carries about 250 to 300 kilograms of hydrogen, whereas a liquid tanker of a similar size can transport approximately 4,000 kilograms — about a 10 times difference.

Building demand for hydrogen use

To ensure the hydrogen it produces is used effectively, HTEC is also taking proactive steps to create demand by deploying hydrogen fuel-cell electric trucks across British Columbia.

In early June, HTEC announced plans to introduce 100 Class 8 hydrogen fuel-cell electric trucks (FCETs) as part of its H2 Gateway program. The specific vehicle models have not been chosen yet, but Grant says the company plans to order the trucks in 2025 for delivery in 2026. These trucks will then be leased to fleet operators through HTEC’s newly established VLC subsidiary.

VLC will provide a comprehensive service package to fleet operators. This includes procuring the FCETs, ensuring compliance with federal and provincial standards, securing compatibility with hydrogen refuelling infrastructure, and offering preventative and corrective maintenance services. VLC will also leverage proprietary telematics to monitor vehicle performance to maximize usage and reliability.

HTEC believes fleet operators will benefit from leasing hydrogen trucks due to the advantage of long-distance travel with short refuelling times and the potential to accelerate the decarbonization of the commercial trucking sector. These trucks emit 92 per cent fewer emissions per year than standard diesel trucks.

By offering these vehicles, HTEC’s goal is to create a direct demand for the hydrogen it supplies and foster a closed-loop system where production, distribution, and consumption are all interconnected.

Deploying hydrogen trucks

The H2 Gateway isn’t HTEC’s only ongoing demand-building initiative for hydrogen vehicles. Last year, it also launched two pilot projects focused on deploying hydrogen trucks: the BC Hydrogen Pilot Trucks Project and the BC Hydrogen Ports Project.

In both pilots, the vehicles are only just beginning to arrive.

The Ports Project, which launched in June 2023 with $4 million in funding from the B.C. government, features six heavy-duty fuel-cell trucks owned by HTEC available for lease to operators at the Port of Vancouver.

The Pilot Trucks Project, which started last fall, is backed by a $16.5-million provincial investment. This project also includes six HTEC-owned heavy-duty fuel-cell trucks, which will be leased to local fleets.

Both projects aim to demonstrate the viability of hydrogen fuel-cell technology as an alternative to diesel-powered trucks. They were developed before HTEC conceived the H2 Gateway, says Grant.

“They’ve been on the books and in the works for a few years, and now we’re just starting to see the vehicles being delivered.”

Vehicles from six different truck manufacturers are currently accredited for the Pilot Trucks Project. The most recent, the Nikola TRE FCEV, was announced last month. It joins the Hyundai XCIENT fuel-cell truck as well as fuel-cell trucks from Kenworth, Peterbilt, Elemental Trucks and Hexagon Purus.

By the end of the year, HTEC expects to have five of the 12 vehicles for both pilots on the road, with the remaining seven arriving in 2025. All trucks will be leased to local fleets through HTEC’s leasing services and maintained by Velocity Truck Centres, based in Abbotsford.

“Our goal is to procure multiple types of Class 7 and 8 fuel-cell trucks to trial them and to get some experience with operations and maintenance and performance of the vehicles,” says Grant.

Pathway forward

HTEC’s efforts align with the B.C. government’s Hydrogen Strategy, introduced in 2021. The strategy outlines the province’s vision to accelerate the production and use of renewable and low-carbon hydrogen, positioning B.C. as a leader in the global hydrogen economy.

“We certainly support decarbonization of transportation fuel. And so whether that’s electric or hydrogen, they both serve a purpose,” says Grant. “Battery electric technology tends to do better with light-duty vehicles and vehicles with lower weights. Hydrogen tends to do better with heavier transport vehicles and high payloads.”

HTEC’s next steps are to advance along the pathway laid out in its H2 Gateway program. In early 2025, two major milestones are expected: the launch of the first large-scale green hydrogen production site in Metro Vancouver and the opening of the first heavy-duty hydrogen refuelling station.