Everything old is new again.

The automotive manufacturing industry is in the middle of a well-documented shift away from Internal Combustion Engines (ICEs) to Electric Vehicles (EVs). But another major breakthrough in automotive technology – which began, believe it or not, back in 1807 – has been influencing the thinking of increasing numbers of automobile manufacturers, notably Toyota.

Hydrogen fuel cell technology may not be dominant in the consumer vehicle industry, but it’s becoming increasingly important within the industrial vehicle industry and for use in heavy machinery. Here’s a closer look at why hydrogen fuel cell technology has such incredible growth potential and how that will impact the economy and job market in Canada.

Making a mainstream move

In a review of the hydrogen-powered automobile market, Bubbling under: Hydrogen-powered cars have been around, but now they’re making a mainstream move, the Financial Post shared the views of Stephen Beatty, vice-president of corporate at Toyota Canada Inc., on the future of hydrogen-powered vehicles.

“We are headed toward an energy revolution that will electrify the powertrain in vehicles,” Mr. Beatty was quoted as observing. “What I think is not really well understood at the moment is that it’s not going to take a single form. It’s going to be several different types of technologies that are best suited for a particular duty cycle and a particular customer.”

In a separate report on the hydrogen fuel cell industry published in Autosphere, Mr. Beatty was also quoted as saying: “Toyota has been working on hydrogen fuel cell technology for the last couple of decades now in Japan and has always seen fuel cells as part of the solution for future needs to decarbonize transportation.”

200 years in the making

Paradoxically, the “energy revolution” to which Mr. Beatty correctly refers has been a long time in coming. The truth is that, as mentioned earlier, the idea of hydrogen-powered automobiles is hardly new. The concept was originally introduced by Swiss inventor Francois Isaac de Rivaz, who created a four-wheel vehicle powered by hydrogen and oxygen well over two hundred years ago.

The so-called “de Rivaz engine” was a reciprocating engine. It, along with several other engines, has a claim to being the world’s first internal combustion engine. Like the modern engines of today, the engine Mr. de Rivaz designed included a spark ignition, but used hydrogen gas as the fuel source. There, of course, the difference ends. 

Four broad benefits + scalability

Let’s be clear about what the broad benefits are of using hydrogen as a fuel for today’s automobiles. In general terms, there are four of them:

1. Cleaner emissions
2. Lower noise
3. Smoother and faster acceleration with more torque
4. No lengthy recharging times – like the ones seen with battery electric vehicles

And there’s something else. “The real benefit is that the technology is very scalable,” Mr. Beatty went on to explain later in the Financial Post article. “It can be used in cars, but also in trains and ships and forklift trucks. In fact, the bigger, heavier and further the vehicle goes, the more hydrogen is the clear winner in the types of application of electrification that we can think of.”

Given the present state of the automotive industry, at least as it relates to battery electric vehicles, depending on the application, hydrogen fuel cell technology (HFC) would appear to offer considerable competitive advantages.

We all know that, as electric vehicle  technology currently stands, electric vehicles  are a credible option for driving relatively shorter distances – provided there is access to recharging capability.

Hybrids are another alternative, if only because a regular gas-powered engine supports propulsion when  battery power fades. But hydrogen-powered vehicles, at least to their growing number of proponents, are another story entirely.

Many industry experts believe that hydrogen-powered vehicles are a better way to greenify long-distance travel, such as that done by heavy-duty transport trucks and potential fleet/rental vehicles. Hydrogen-powered vehicles can be much bigger than electric (which still tend to be relatively small) and refuelling, as we stated, doesn’t take nearly as long.The Canadian Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Association puts hydrogen-powered vehicles  in the following nutshell. Such automobiles:

• Weigh less than the alternatives
• Can travel for up to 500 kilometres before refuelling – which only takes a few minutes
• Deliver an environmental footprint of 2.7 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometre vs. the 20.9 grams for electric cars

Part of a broader narrative

Better yet, hydrogen-powered vehicles are part of a broader Canadian national clean energy narrative. In December 2020, the federal government released its Hydrogen Strategy: Seizing the Opportunities report. As the report states: 

“The Hydrogen Strategy for Canada lays out an ambitious framework for actions that will cement hydrogen as a tool to achieve our goal of net-zero emissions by 2050 and position Canada as a global, industrial leader of clean renewable fuels.

This strategy shows us that by 2050, clean hydrogen can help us achieve our net-zero goal – all while creating jobs, growing our economy, and protecting our environment. This will involve switching from conventional gasoline, diesel, and natural gas to zero-emissions fuel sources, taking advantage of new regulatory environments, and embracing new technologies to give Canadians more choice of zero emission alternatives.

As one of the top 10 hydrogen producers in the world today, we are rich in the feedstocks that produce hydrogen. We are blessed with a strong energy sector, and the geographic assets that will propel Canada to be a major exporter of hydrogen and hydrogen technologies.

Hydrogen might be nature’s smallest molecule but its potential is enormous. It provides new markets for our conventional energy resources and holds the potential to decarbonize many sectors of our economy, including resource extraction, freight, transportation, power generation, manufacturing, and the production of steel and cement.”

At FOCAL, we recognize that Canada’s automotive technology clusters are key to the advancement of the broader automotive sector. These clusters contribute to manufacturing capability and support the development of new product technologies and enhancements to product quality – of which hydrogen-powered automobiles are an example. 

The Vancouver automotive technology cluster

Here in Canada, the Greater Vancouver Area is very much leading the way. As we report in Automotive Industry Labour Analysis | Regional Automotive Technology Clusters: Vancouver Cluster, Vancouver supports the vast majority of new automotive technology workers engaged in developing fuel cell technologies.

And, as we point out in our analysis, several companies and organizations are playing an important role in the establishment and expansion of Vancouver’s capabilities in the design, development, and manufacturing associated with HFC technologies.A founding member was Ballard Power Systems, a Vancouver based global company that remains a vital source of R&D expertise and skill development in the HFC technology category. Other companies that contribute to the cluster include:

• Green-light Innovations
• AVL Fuel Cell Canada
• Mercedes-Benz Canada Fuel Cell Division (MBFC)
• Delta-Q Technologies

All are active in manufacturing, designing and developing hydrogen fuel cell and electric vehicle technologies. As we explain in our report: 

“Besides those organizations, our results show that the vast majority of the automotive technology companies in the region’s fuel cell cluster are SMEs (small and medium size enterprises). Such organizations tend to have a lower number of employees with advanced skills and are more prone to experiencing challenges performing R&D. The Vancouver automotive technology cluster’s specialization in fuel cell technologies was reflected in our analysis of the region’s labour market.”

The occupation segments offering the greatest potential in the development of fuel cell and other alternative propulsion technologies (battery-electric and hybrid vehicles technologies) include:

1. Mechanical engineers
2. Electrical and industrial engineers
3. Engineering technicians and technologists

All these occupational streams are essential to developing fuel cell modules and electric vehicle energy storage systems. Metallurgical and materials engineers – individuals that have the necessary knowledge to design fuel cell membranes and their materials – are also likely to be in high demand. The Automotive Policy Research Centre maintains a database of companies active in the HFC technology – and many other – categories. It’s an invaluable occupational resource.  

Conclusion: the future of HFC technology may not be rooted in the consumer market

Vancouver is not alone in finding advances in HFC technology and its supporting infrastructure. The Quebec government is continuing to be proactive on the hydrogen refuelling front.

It is investing in the construction of a second hydrogen refuelling station in the Montreal – Quebec City corridor. The first public hydrogen refuelling station, installed in a service station on Wilfred-Hamel Boulevard, in Quebec, cost $5.2 million, more than half of which was funded by TEQ ($2.9 million) and Natural Resources Canada ($1 million).

The key, of course, is building out the infrastructure so that there are refuelling stations along the major Canadian transportation corridors. While hydrogen-powered vehicles  make a lot of sense, the lack of refuelling infrastructure is a major obstacle to growth.

According to the Canadian Fuels Association there are 11,908 retail gasoline stations in Canada or 3.1 per 10,000 Canadians. By contrast, there are less than 20 HFC refuelling stations across the entire country, with virtually all of them located in Quebec and BC’s Lower Mainland.

So, while HFC powered vehicles have a long way to go in the consumer market, there remains huge potential in the industrial vehicle segments – including buses, heavy cargo, airport, agricultural, long distance haulage and military vehicles. Such vehicles, and the organizations supporting them, have the resources necessary to build internal hydrogen refuelling stations. 

In the Netherlands, the first hydrogen powered passenger train was successfully tested last year. The objective is to replace the existing diesel fleet on non-electrified lines to meet zero carbon emission objectives. No fewer than 41 similar hydrogen powered trains are already on order in Germany.

Find out more from FOCAL

The Future of Canadian Automotive Labourforce (FOCAL) Initiative is a collaboration of the Canadian Skills Training and Employment Coalition (CSTEC), the Automotive Policy Research Centre and Prism Economics and Analysis. 

Funded by the Government of Canada, you can find out more about us on our website and follow us on Social Media – LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter – and through our newsletter.