Hydrogen transport: Quebec is “late”, according to experts

Canada will have a long way to go to reach its goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2050, some say. We are late, absolutely! We have many years to catch upadmits Professor Bruno G. Pollet, a researcher specializing in hydrogen and holder of a research chair at the University of Quebec at Trois-Rivières (UQTR).

While many Quebecers are still reluctant to replace their gas-powered car with an electric car, Europeans have taken the next step. There was a real desire to develop the hydrogen sector in Europe. The major industrial players have embarked on this development to offer solutionscontinues Johann Bureau, vice-president at Charbone Hydrogène, who points out that European governments have invested large sums of money in research and development of green energies.

In Germany, some trains are powered by hydrogen, as are many buses across the continent, particularly in France. Effective in extreme cold, these vehicles also have another marked advantage over electric vehicles, according to. Mr Pollet. Hydrogen is ideal. We are talking about three to five minutes to refuel a vehicle.

Complementary Technologies

The teacher of theUQTR head of the Hydrogen Research Institute proclaims the urgency to act.

We need financial assistance from the government to try to make up for what we have lost during all these yearssays Bruno G. Pollet who believes that the United States is also ahead and very aggressive in this area compared to Canada.

To succeed in decarbonizing the country, it will be necessary to work with large industries. Before dreaming of millions of small hydrogen cars on our roads, it is better, according to him, to convert heavy transport and supply industrial parks. I am thinking of sectors such as steelworks, metallurgy, those which are said to be very difficult to electrify. We need that and that hydrogen to produce fertilizer from ammonia.

The researcher of theUQTR does not however call into question the relevance of electric cars, quite the contrary. He considers them essential, but it is the complementarity of technologies that will, in his view, make it possible to get closer to environmental targets.

In Europe, hydrogen trains are already on the rails. (File photo)

Photo : Alstom/Twitter

A first hydrogen pump in Quebec

To fill their vehicles, Europeans have built many hydrogen filling stations. In Quebec, the Harnois company has been trying to develop this market since 2019.

Harnois Energies was the first hydrogen station in Quebecproudly says project manager Catherine Gosselin, a graduate of theUQTR.

The chain does not currently intend to build other self-service stations. Instead, it intends to set up a distribution system. We produce 200 kilograms of hydrogen per day in Quebec. The next step is to bottle it and distribute it to our customers across the province.continues Ms. Gosselin.