Hydrogen Vehicle Loading and Fuelling Station Launched

SASKATOON, Oct. 29 /CNW/ - Today, a major step in the Smart Fuel Solutions™ project was announced with the launch of a hydrogen vehicle loading and fuelling station in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

The station, located in Saskatoon's north industrial district, will fuel a fleet of seven hydrogen trucks from both SaskEnergy and the Saskatchewan Research Council (SRC). The demonstration trucks will reduce environmental pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. The vehicles incorporate a more flexible and lower cost technology that assists in bridging the way to 100 per cent hydrogen use.

"SRC has been a leader in developing alternative fuel technologies which has highlighted Saskatchewan's strong innovative capacity," said Advanced Education, Employment and Immigration Minister and Minister responsible for SRC, Rob Norris. "As vehicle manufacturers adopt hybrid and enviro-friendly engines, hydrogen technology like this one has the potential to be commercialized and benefit Saskatchewan's economy."

The project's cost is over $2.3 million with funding provided by Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), Enterprise Saskatchewan, SaskEnergy and SRC.  A significant amount of in-kind support has also been provided by AkzoNobel, ERCO Worldwide and SaskEnergy.

"SaskEnergy's expertise, combined with their existing fleet of natural gas/gasoline vehicles and province-wide network of natural gas refuelling stations, assists SRC to test this cutting-edge technology in real-world situations," said Minister Responsible for SaskEnergy, Dustin Duncan.  "This project demonstrates SaskEnergy's commitment to finding alternative, green energy sources for the future, as well as the Province's commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions."

"Investing in the development of new, cleaner energy for our roads is good for our economy and the environment," said David Anderson, Member of Parliament for Cypress Hills-Grasslands and Parliamentary Secretary for Natural Resources. "The Government of Canada is building partnerships to improve efficiency in the commercial sector, which will benefit all Canadians in the long run." 

Using more than three decade's worth of technology, research, development and demonstrations, four SRC trucks and three SaskEnergy trucks have been adapted to operate on hydrogen.

"The Smart Fuel Solutions™ project — in particular the hydrogen fuelling station — will allow SRC to safely and efficiently fuel the hydrogen vehicles," said Dr. Laurier Schramm, SRC President and CEO.  "Besides the potential environmental benefits for Canadians, this project provides real-world testing to advance the commercialization of hydrogen technology."

To obtain hydrogen fuel for the project, SRC engineers designed a system that takes by-product hydrogen from ERCO Worldwide's Saskatoon chemical production plant and transfers it through a short pipeline to a loading station at AkzoNobel's nearby facility. There the hydrogen is dried, compressed and injected into tube trailers that make their way to SaskEnergy's commercial fuelling station in Saskatoon where it is pumped into vehicles.

When operating in the hydrogen mode, the vehicles substitute about 45 per cent hydrogen for fossil fuel use in city and highway traffic. At idle and low load, the gasoline and diesel engines operate on approximately 100 per cent and 60 per cent hydrogen, respectively.

For further information:

Cameron Zimmer
Saskatchewan Research Council
Tel: [phone]
Cell: [phone]
[email protected]

Lynda Palombo
Natural Resources Canada
Tel: [phone]
[email protected]

Casey MacLeod
SaskEnergy - Corporate Affairs
Tel: [phone]
C[email protected]

Deb Young
Enterprise Saskatchewan
Tel: [phone]
[email protected]