Business opportunities in the hydrogen sector are growing very rapidly, which is being reflected in the many positive news reports about this sector. This is likely because so many large companies are committing to Net-Zero emissions, which create considerable increased demand for hydrogen related technologies and services. The number of net zero pledges has doubled, including more than 1,500 companies with a combined revenue of more than $11.4 trillion.
The Hydrogen Business Council’s sixth annual hydrogen conference, therefore, provided a learning opportunity to anyone who wanted to benefit from huge new hydrogen-related business opportunities.
This conference was ‘all virtual’ in order to avoid large in-person gatherings. This way, the conference aiming for a local but also wider national and global audience.
The theme of this conference was "Hydrogen, Sustainability and Finance: Local Roles for Global Goals”. Simply put, we wanted to explore the entire suite of clean hydrogen applications as part of a broader effort to reduce carbon emissions and address climate change. But we wanted to do this in a way that creates an emergent and self-sustaining Canadian community of end users, product suppliers, project developers, system integrators, and supporting infrastructure. We can achieve some serious reductions in CO2 emissions and can make economic use of off-peak ‘surplus’ power that is derived from low or zero emission sources to make ‘green’ hydrogen.
Some of the speakers and session themes that were part of the conference program:
- Welcome – from Jeff Yurek, Ontario Minister of Environment, Conservation and Parks.
- Opening address from Robyn Collver, Senior VP Canadian Tire Corporation – CTC Hydrogen Vision and Plan
- Why the Deployment of Hydrogen Technology Solutions is at the heart of Global Sustainability
- Developing Significant Hydrogen Production and Utilization Projects - and how to ‘Green Fund’ them
- Keynote Speaker Mark Kirby of CHFCA - Canadian Hydrogen Technology Development and Global Impacts
- The Business Case for Hydrogen as 'clean' Transportation Fuel derived from Surplus Electricity
- Hydrogen Bus Fleets - what products are available now and which transit agencies are adoption leaders
- The accelerating pace to replace diesel fuel with hydrogen for medium and long haul freight movement
- Hydrail - the Status and Highlights of the Metrolinx exploration of Hydrogen Electric GO Trains
- Creating the Hydrogen Economic Ecosystem - the role for policymakers and progressive communities
- Building hydrogen Infrastructure in Ontario to fuel cars, busses, trucks, trains and ‘green’ industrial users
- Emergent hydrogen production technologies, and emergent hydrogen marine and aerospace applications
WISE Faculty Participants:
Prof. Michael Fowler & Prof. Roydon Fraser