Hydrogen could power Alberta’s economy in the future

Province ideal for producing zero-emission fuel, say David B. Layzell and Jessica Lof

Finding the most effective solution to a complex problem sometimes requires making the problem bigger. Climate change is the kind of systemic, global “grand challenge” in need of this approach.

Recent provincial elections show that concerns about climate change, and efforts to address it with a carbon tax and other tools, don’t resonate with most voters in Alberta and elsewhere in Canada. Such concerns aren’t sufficiently compelling to drive the changes needed in our human systems.

In international trade negotiations, when countries cannot reach an agreement on a particular sector of the economy, it’s standard practice to put other sectors on the table. This opens new ways of thinking and expands the opportunity to negotiate and move forward.

Similarly, we need to enlarge the climate-change problem — and the opportunities — in transforming human systems to achieve environmental, economic and other societal benefits. We need to define compelling transition pathways that offer more persuasive solutions to Canadians than focusing mainly on reducing carbon emissions. Once these solutions are driving our systems toward disruptive change, it will be easier to make the transition to a low-carbon economy — to “direct the disruption.”

Take Alberta’s freight-transportation sector, for example, which accounts for almost 70 per cent of diesel-fuel demand in the province and contributes about 12 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions per year.

A new, $15-million, three-year project led by the Alberta Motor Truck Association — jointly funded by Emissions Reduction Alberta and the private sector — is tackling this challenge by enlarging it. The Alberta Zero-Emissions Truck Electrification Collaboration (AZETEC) project will test hydrogen as a zero-emissions alternative to diesel fuel for Alberta’s commercial transportation industry.

Making the problem bigger offers solutions for how Alberta and other fossil fuel-rich regions of Canada can create a thriving economy in a low-carbon future.

Disruptive technologies and business models are emerging that could address most, if not all, of the challenges confronting freight transportation. Transformative changes would be welcomed if freight could be delivered to consumers and businesses with improvements in efficiency, convenience, safety and cost — while significantly reducing environmental impacts.

Electric heavy-duty trucks offer better performance, lower maintenance costs and zero emissions compared with diesel-fuelled vehicles. However, the long distances and heavy loads required to move freight are not well suited to a plug-in, battery-electric drivetrain.

A hydrogen fuel-cell electric drivetrain is much more promising. But it requires a cost-effective source of hydrogen fuel, so heavy-duty trucks can convert it to electricity and achieve the necessary power and range.

There is no region in North America that is better positioned than Alberta for cost-effective, large-scale production and distribution of zero-emission hydrogen fuel. Proven technologies already exist for producing hydrogen from fossil fuels. These technologies can be adapted with relative ease and at low cost to either put the unwanted carbon byproduct back in the ground, or never take it out in the first place.

If the province produced and exported hydrogen as a transportation fuel, instead of selling an equivalent amount of crude oil and natural gas to the U.S. at discount prices, the Alberta economy could generate three to 10 times more economic activity.

The collaborative, systemslevel approach that gave rise to the AZETEC initiative is being expanded to other sectors and regions by a new, national, notfor-profit organization called the Transition Accelerator. We are excited to be working with researchers, sectors and companies across Canada to explore how we can make the climate change problem bigger, and define credible transition pathways that contribute to both the economy and the environment. David B. Layzell is a professor at University of Calgary and executive director of CESAR (Canada Energy Systems Analysis Research), a partner in both the AZETEC project and the Transition Accelerator. Jessica Lof is a research lead at CESAR who focuses on transition pathways for Canada’s freight transportation sector and the hydrogen economy.