TORONTO – A new round of the Hydrogen Innovation Fund has been launched by the Ontario government, which is investing $30 million in order to “unlock hydrogen’s potential.”
It will have double the budget of the $15 million 2023 fund and broaden eligibility criteria to include electricity grid-focused initiatives, as well as applications across other sectors, such as transportation, a release reads.
The fund will be supporting projects across two streams:
- Projects with direct electricity system benefits, including the integration of low-carbon hydrogen into the electricity grid. Eligible projects would include hydrogen storage and generation, peaking generation capacity, supporting services and long-term or seasonal storage of surplus renewable energy.
- Projects enabling broader energy and other sector applications, including transportation, manufacturing and heavy industry. Eligible projects would include hydrogen production and storage for non-electricity applications, switching existing hydrogen users to low-carbon hydrogen produced in Ontario, creating hydrogen hubs, or the development of new methods to connect hydrogen producers with end-users.
According to the release, Natural Resources Canada modelling shows hydrogen could make up as much as 18 per cent of the country’s energy use by 2050 and create up to 135,000 jobs across Canada.
The province’s 2023 Hydrogen Innovation Fund supported 15 projects across Ontario that utilized hydrogen as a clean alternative fuel or used hydrogen to generate more electricity.
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