FUELING THE DRIVE TO HYDROGEN.
A Year in Review and a Look Ahead to 2019
December 21, 2018 by Colin Armstrong
What a year it's been! Certainly, the biggest one in HTEC’s history to date.
As thousands of hydrogen-powered vehicles roll onto North American roads over the next five years to meet Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) and climate change mandates, every vehicle is going to need a place to refuel. That’s where we come in, working with our customers to ensure they get hydrogen how, when, and where they want it.
Canada’s first retail hydrogen refueling station is open for business
HTEC’s most significant accomplishment in 2018 was, without question, opening the country’s first retail hydrogen refueling station. The station opened in Vancouver in June and is the first in the six-station network we’re building in British Columbia to support initial fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) rollouts. It's also the first of three we're building in partnership with Shell.
Partnerships are critical in the transition to a clean-energy future and HTEC is proud to be working with energy companies, automakers, technology companies, and others to turn hydrogen vision into reality.
We broke ground on the second Shell site in November. This station is in Burnaby and we look forward to its grand opening in the spring.
ZEV Mandates for BC and Quebec
Both BC and Quebec are important target markets for HTEC. The provincial governments have announced ZEV mandates which set sales targets for electric vehicles and include incentives for hydrogen FCEVs and infrastructure.
Quebec set the 2018 target at 3.5% of new car sales, with the target projected to increase to 22% by 2025. BC's ZEV legislation will rollout next year, with planned ZEV sales targets of 10% by 2025, 30% by 2030, and 100% by 2040.
Drivers who choose to lease or purchase hydrogen FCEVs will need places to fill up in both provinces; it's our job to make that possible.
A partnership with Quebec energy company, Harnois Énergies
We signed a letter of intent with Harnois earlier this year, outlining the steps we’ll take together to develop a retail hydrogen refueling station network in Quebec and other regions in Canada. Quebec is a market primed for zero-emission vehicles and Harnois, with its large station network, is an important connection as we expand into the province. Harnois plans to open the province’s first hydrogen refueling station in Quebec City early in 2019.
The market is heating up
Two of our automotive partners put stakes in the ground for hydrogen and FCEVs this year. In May, Toyota announced it’s expanding production of the Mirai to at least 30,000 by 2020. And, at the beginning of December, Hyundai announced its plans to produce 700,000 fuel cell systems annually by 2030, including 500,000 units for FCEVs.
California continues to be an important secondary market for HTEC. Today, there are 36 hydrogen stations open, 28 more in the works, and a goal of 200 stations by 2025. These stations support almost 5,700 FCEVs currently on the road, a number that goes up weekly. California's vision is 1,000 stations and one million FCEVs by 2030. We will finally open our Woodside station in Northern California in the new year.
Looking forward to 2019
It’s going to be another busy year! We’ll continue to add new members to the team and will be moving into new digs mid-year because there’s no more room where we currently operate. On the technology front, we’ll continue work on several new hydrogen supply solutions. And we’ll keep on building our refueling networks, with plans to open four more stations in BC, our California station, and at least one station in Quebec.
We’re proud of the part we’re playing in fueling the drive to hydrogen. Thank you for your interest in HTEC and for joining us on the journey!
Best wishes to you and yours this holiday season and for the coming year.
Colin