A new $23 MM renewable energy hub will transform an entire city block at the University of British Columbia into a smart energy district, including the province’s first-ever hydrogen refueling station.

A key feature is a water electrolyzer that uses electricity from the solar panels to split water into hydrogen and oxygen, producing 100% renewable hydrogen for light and heavy-duty vehicles.

Hydrogen and clean electricity provide a clear path to sustainable, low-carbon economies for Canada and the world, said Walter Mérida, professor of mechanical engineering who leads MéridaLabs in the faculty of applied science. “When combined with digital technologies, they can enable economic growth as transportation, telecommunications and civil infrastructures become smart and interconnected.”

The project will also include:

• A solar array system to simulate power generation in realistic urban environments
• Reversible EV charging, where energy can potentially be exchanged between electric vehicles and the grid. This highlights how buildings and cars can evolve from passive assets that sit unused for most of the day, to active participants in smart energy storage transactions
• Smart energy storage enabled by aggregating the combined battery capacity of electric vehicles
• Data analytics managed using a 5G network–installed as part of a UBC-Rogers partnership–and fed into research on smart energy, urban planning and other studies
• Breakthrough research in related technologies carried out in several laboratories across UBC

The electric vehicle charging stations have been installed and will be operational by the end of the summer. The hydrogen refuelling centre is scheduled to open in March next year, followed by the commissioning of the solar array in October.