Vancouver, Canada - The National Research Council’s (NRC) Vancouver-based fuel cell and hydrogen industry cluster has received a $13 million boost with the opening of the Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Gateway - a technology demonstration and exhibit centre showcasing Canada’s world-leading fuel cell and hydrogen industry. 

The Gateway was conceived through a public-private partnership between NRC, Natural Resources Canada, Industry Canada, the Government of BC and Hydrogen & Fuel Cells Canada (the national industry association for this sector).

NRC’s intent is to secure Canada’s competitive edge in hydrogen and fuel cell R&D and commercialization. To reach this goal, NRC supported Canada’s Fuel Cell Commercialization Roadmap, a federal government initiative that assembled 40 stakeholders to identify opportunities in fuel cell R&D and map a strategy for technology commercialization.

"Our Government supports private-public research collaborations that accelerate the commercialization of hydrogen-based energy and alternatives that will lead to cleaner, renewable fuels," said Natural Resources Minister Gary Lunn. "The time is right to develop solutions that respond to our environmental and energy-related challenges and create a competitive advantage for our country."

The number of organizations partnered with NRC to bring pioneering technologies to market doubled over five years, bringing the total to 19 industrial collaborations, 14 university partnerships and 10 international projects.

In addition to the Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Gateway demonstration centre, the NRC announced a world-class research facility that will work with all of Canada’s major fuel cell developers and users.

The announcement is part of a larger $118 million Government of Canada investment in six NRC technology cluster initiatives - Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Technologies in Vancouver; Nanotechnology in Edmonton; Plants for Health and Wellness in Saskatoon; Biomedical Technologies in Winnipeg; Photonics in Ottawa and Aluminium Transformation in the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region.

Technology clusters are broadly based community partnerships between industry, academia and all levels of government, focused on building competitive advantage for Canada through research and innovation. These S&T partnerships position communities to attract talent, investment and economic activity.

"This technology cluster initiative highlights how NRC is focused on collaborative research with public and private sector partners that is inching Canada ever closer to making the commercialization of environmentally friendly fuel cell and hydrogen technologies a real possibility," said Dr. Pierre Coulombe, NRC President. "The impacts this technology will have on our environment and economy are limitless."   

British Columbia’s Hydrogen Highway^TM - led by Hydrogen & Fuel Cells Canada and Natural Resources Canada’s Canadian Transportation Fuel Cell Alliance - is an integral component of NRC’s cluster strategy.

Envisioned as a key attraction at the 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games, the Highway will extend from Vancouver’s airport to Whistler. The NRC Institute for Fuel Cell Research (NRC-IFCI) will be one of seven centres along the highway, providing hydrogen refueling infrastructure as well as transportation, micro and stationary fuel cell demonstrations.

Vancouver remains the national hub for groundbreaking R&D, accounting for nearly 75 percent of the roughly 2,000 Canadian jobs in the field. Innovative firms in the city have made significant headway in commercializing hydrogen and fuel cell solutions.

For example, Vancouver based firm MagPower successfully raised $22 million to commercialize its magnesium-based fuel cell based on a catalyst developed by NRC; Plug Power, a recent graduate from NRC’s Industry Partnership Facility, is now considered a leader in the fork lift market; and several local companies have partnered to become leaders in the commercialization of fuel cell technologies in niche markets.

By 2016, when experts say the global industry could be worth well over $8.4 billion annually, NRC’s early strategic investments will have primed the Vancouver cluster to seize a significant market share.

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For More Information: Natural Resources Canada