Canada’s first retail hydrogen fuelling station is now open to the public in British Columbia. The station, located at 8686 Granville Street in Vancouver, is cooperatively owned by Shell and Hydrogen Technology & Energy Corporation (HTEC).
“After bringing hydrogen refuelling sites to other markets globally, we are excited to work with Vancouver-based technology provider, HTEC, to add even more locations to our growing network,” said Oliver Bishop, General Manager of Hydrogen for Shell. “This is early days for hydrogen in Canada, but we believe hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles have the potential to be an important part of a future low-carbon transport system.”
The event itself included a one hour ride-and-drive period that allowed attending media to test drive hydrogen vehicles like the Hyundai NEXO fuel cell electric car. According to Shell’s news release, these types of vehicles help reduce emissions and address air pollution issues while also offering a certain level of convenience to drivers. For example, hydrogen fuel cell cars can drive up to 700 kilometres, and refuelled only takes a few minutes if done at a standard station with a hydrogen dispenser, says Shell.
The launch of the station is the first of three sites that Shell and HTEC plan to open in the Vancouver, B.C. area.
“HTEC is proud to be partnering with Shell to build three retail hydrogen stations as part of a six-station network in Greater Vancouver and Victoria,” said Colin Armstrong, CEO of HTEC. “Refuelling infrastructure must be in place to support hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle rollouts and it’s exciting to see Canada’s first wave of retail hydrogen refuelling stations being built here in BC.”
