Fuelling up for Glory in 2010

2004-10-14

The 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver and Whistler, B.C. will enable the world's top skaters and skiers to demonstrate their talents in front of an international audience. At the same time, the Canadian hydrogen industry will be striving for a winning performance of its own.

When the world sets its sights on B.C. in five years time, an ambitious group of industry and government stakeholders are aiming to have a fleet of hydrogen powered vehicles at the ready to transport Olympic athletes and officials to Whistler and other Olympic venues in the lower mainland and on Vancouver Island.

To make this Olympic dream a reality, a network of hydrogen refueling stations are being constructed along the main stretch of highway connecting these facilities.  Fuel Cells Canada is the organization coordinating efforts to put the necessary infrastructure in place for this project, known as the Hydrogen Highway. The initiative is just one of numerous endeavours underway in Canada to increase awareness about hydrogen and fuel cell technologies.

“We want to showcase the technology,” says Alison Grigg, the project manager for the Hydrogen Highway.

She describes the Olympic Games as a perfect opportunity to demonstrate what Canada has done to put itself at the forefront of the development of hydrogen power and fuel cell technology.

The Hydrogen Highway will be highlighted during the Games, however it will be up and running well before the opening ceremonies and remain in use once all the athletes have headed home. The stations are part of ongoing efforts encourage more drivers to switch to hydrogen-powered vehicles. So far, seven refueling sites have been selected and work is either completed or ongoing on three of them.

Just as the sports facilities will be a heritage of the Games for future generations of athletes, the Hydrogen Highway will give the further development of the fuel cell industry a major boost. As well as showing that hydrogen-fueled vehicles are viable, the Hydrogen Highway project is intended to highlight other potential uses for fuel cells. The refueling stations will all feature demonstrations of some of the other potential uses for hydrogen, such as back-up power devices and generators for homes and offices.

An important issue for hydrogen advocates, suggests Grigg, is finding environmentally friendly sources of gas. Hydrogen is the earth's most abundant element and has many sources including: fossil fuels, biomass and renewable resources like solar and wind power and hydroelectricity. She also notes the ability to store unutilized electricity from power systems in hydrogen through electroloysis of water until it is needed to produce electricity.  This plan will also be among the demonstrations on display at the Hydrogen Highway refueling stations.

To get the Hydrogen Highway project off the ground, Prime Minister Paul Martin announced a $1.1 million federal commitment over three years with additional monies going to other hydrogen related projects across Canada. The funding will be administrated through the Canadian Transportation Fuel Cell Alliance (CTFCA), which includes fuel cell companies, vehicle manufacturers and government agencies with an interest in alternate fuels. The CTFCA was developed as part of the federal government's commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and realizing its commitment to the Kyoto Protocol.

In addition to the Hydrogen Highway project in B.C., work has begun on a Hydrogen Village in the Greater Toronto Area. It will showcase various ways that hydrogen and fuel cells can generate electricity and reduce emissions. There is also a proposal under review to establish hydrogen refueling stations between Montreal and Windsor along the 401, Canada's busiest stretch of highway.

Government funding is important says Grigg, but she emphasizes that the private sector has to do its share if it wants to realize the long-term goal of turning the entire venture into a commercial operation. As well as securing the funds necessary for this ambitious project, a great deal of behind the scenes work is necessary to pave the way for a successful demonstration in 2010. Among the challenges facing organizers of the Hydrogen Highway is ensuring that the refueling stations meet strict provincial safety requirements.

Jeff Grant, a marketing analyst for Ballard Power Systems, - one of Canada's leaders in the Fuel Cell Industry and a partner in the Hydrogen Highway initiative - chairs the CTFCA Standards and Codes Working Group. Its mandate is to promote the development and acceptance of national and international fuel cell and hydrogen systems standards in the areas of: storage, fuelling station configurations and locations, and fuelling interfaces with fuel cell vehicles. It also wants to make sure that these standards are referenced in both federal and provincial/territorial regulations.

“Right now, there are no explicit requirements for refueling stations – no standard exists in British Columbia or elsewhere,” says Grant.

He notes that there are some fire codes that were developed for industrial hydrogen operations but he says these do not reflect the safety issues for commercial fuel cell refueling structures.

“One of the real issues we have is the overly restrictive separation distance requirement that is in some of the fire codes right now, which tells you how far you need to be away from the hydrogen supply. If we used the existing codes we couldn't retrofit petroleum stations for hydrogen,” says Grant.

To rectify this, the working group is participating in the development of a hydrogen installation standard for the Canadian market with the Bureau de Normalization de Quebec (BNQ)..

It is composed of representatives from the hydrogen industry and the federal and provincial government. It also includes Canadian members from technical committees at both the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), who are developing interntional standards for hydrogen technologies.

The working group is also involved in a number of other initiatives aimed at facilitating the demonstration of fuel cell technologies – which includes the extensive standardization work that has already been accomplished in the area of hydrogen technologies – both in Canada and around the world. This includes the creation of a virtual fueling station which will not only allow visitors to explore the station in cyberspace but also to connect to related installation and product standards.

While the important role of standards in ensuring that fuel cell technologies are safe for use by the public may not be as visible as other elements of the Hydrogen Highway, it is one of many important components in ensuring the project's success. Just as Olympic athletes dedicate themselves to endless hours of physical training and mental preparation to realize their dreams, the Canadian hydrogen industry will be working intensively over the coming months and years to be ready for its two weeks in the international spotlight in 2010.

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This article first appeared in Volume 31 of CONSENSUS Magazine, 2004.  The information it contains was accurate at the time of publication but has not been updated or revised since, and may not reflect the latest updates on the topic.  If you have specific questions or concerns about the content, please contact the Standards Council of Canada.

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