December 21, 2020. Canada’s Minister of Natural Resources, the Honourable Seamus O’Regan, launched the Hydrogen Strategy for Canada, an ambitious framework that seeks to position Canada as a global hydrogen leader, cementing this low-carbon and zero-emission fuel technology as a key part of its path to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
The Strategy is underpinned by a federal investment of $1.5 billion in a Low-carbon and Zero-emissions Fuels Fund to increase the production and use of low-carbon fuels, including hydrogen. Low-carbon and zero-emission hydrogen has the potential to reduce annual greenhouse gas emissions by up to 45 million metric tons a year in 2030 and could create up to 350,000 new jobs in Canada by 2050.
The Strategy is designed to spur investment and partnerships to establish Canada as a global supplier of hydrogen, and to increase domestic production, which will transform energy sector. As one of the top 10 producers of hydrogen in the world, Canada will benefit from the growing global demand for hydrogen — a market that is expected to reach almost $12 trillion by 2050. The strategy will also be complemented by the Clean Fuel Standard, which will further drive investment and growth in Canada’s fuels sector by incentivizing the development and adoption of clean fuels such as hydrogen.
The Strategy will utilize Canadian expertise to build new hydrogen supply that will power the country’s clean energy future. The use of hydrogen across the country will lower the emissions of sectors like resources extraction, transportation, power generation and manufacturing.