Air Products has been selected by Edmonton International Airport as the H₂ and technology provider for Alberta’s first H₂ fuel cell passenger vehicle fleet. Under the agreement, Air Products will station a mobile H₂ refueler at the airport to provide H₂ for the fleet of Toyota Mirai H₂ fuel cell vehicles.

The airport will begin with a fleet of five H₂ fuel cell vehicles to be used by employees and plans to expand the fleet to as many as 100 cars to serve as a taxi service at the airport. Fueling of the vehicles will begin next week.

Myron Keehn, President and CEO of Edmonton Airports, including Edmonton International Airport, made the announcement during a luncheon with Toyota Canada, where they unveiled plans to partner to create the province’s first H₂ fuel cell passenger vehicle fleet.

“Air Products is proud to support Edmonton International Airport in this first-mover project to establish the first passenger H₂ fuel cell vehicle fleet in Alberta,” said Eric Guter, Air Products’ Global Vice President, H₂ for Mobility. “Access to clean H₂ fueling infrastructure is key to the energy transition and efforts to decarbonize transportation. Air Products’ innovative and efficient mobile fuelers will accelerate the use of H₂ as an emissions-free transportation fuel as permanent H₂ infrastructure is built in Western Canada.”

Earlier this year, Air Products announced plans to build the first commercial-scale H₂ refueling station in Edmonton. The multi-modal station, which will serve heavy-duty and light duty vehicles will be located near Air Products’ net-zero H₂ energy complex under construction in Edmonton.

The new Edmonton station, scheduled to open in 2025, will include two H₂ refueling lanes with dispensers for heavy-duty vehicles such as commercial and municipal trucks, and Air Products’ own truck fleet. In addition, the station also will have two fueling positions for light-duty H₂ fuel cell cars. The H₂ refueling station is supported in part by $1-MM (CAD) in funding from Natural Resources Canada’s Zero Emission Vehicle Infrastructure Program.

Air Products works across all facets of the H₂ value chain, including production, distribution, storage and dispensing and has been a pioneer in H₂ fueling for decades. The company operates the world’s largest H₂ pipeline system, located in the U.S. Gulf Coast, and is a world-class liquid H₂ supplier. Air Products has hands-on operating experience with over 250 H₂ fueling station projects in 20 countries and the company’s technologies are used in over 1.5-MM fueling operations annually.

“With abundant natural resources and a collaborative approach between government and business, Canada is well-positioned to be a global leader in the clean energy future,” said Rachel Smith, Air Products Vice President and General Manager, Canada. “We are proud to build on Air Products’ investment in the Edmonton region that will help accelerate the use of H₂ as an emissions-free transportation fuel across western Canada.”  

Air Products has invested heavily in the Edmonton region and is currently building a transformative new $1.6-B (CAD) net-zero H₂ energy complex. The H₂ production complex will use an advanced process technology that enables the cost-effective capture of more than 90% of carbon emissions for permanent sequestration safely underground. The facility will also include a world-scale H₂ liquefaction facility which will help to accelerate the use of H₂ as emission-free transportation fuel across western Canada. In addition, to avoid the indirect emissions associated with using grid electrical power, the project includes a 100% H₂-fueled power generation unit that has the capability to export clean power to Alberta’s grid.

The complex also will be integrated with neighboring Imperial Oil Limited’s new renewable diesel facility, using innovative engineering. Imperial will produce renewable diesel from locally sourced non-petroleum feedstocks, using a process that produces a biogenic renewable off-gas (ROG) by-product. This ROG will be used as a feedstock within the Air Products H₂ complex, displacing natural gas and further enhancing the overall carbon emissions profile. The combination of utilizing a renewable feedstock and power export more than offset any emissions not directly captured to produce H₂ on a net-zero basis.

This new production facility adds to Air Products’ presence in Edmonton. Air Products already operates three H₂ production facilities, as well as a 55-kilometer H₂ pipeline supplying customers in industries including refining, petrochemical and others.