The BC Hydrogen Highway

The Canadian province of British Columbia (BC) built a hydrogen highway system for the 2010 Olympics. The BC hydrogen highway runs between the cities of Vancouver and Whistler. It was designed to showcase zero-emissions hydrogen technology.

There are hydrogen refueling stations near Victoria and on the University of British Columbia campus in Vancouver. In Surrey, hydrogen refueling station was opened in March 2002. As of late 2006, hydrogen fueling stations were built in Victoria, Vancouver and Surrey.

The province of British Columbia and BC Transit have also built hydrogen powered buses which were used as transport along the hydrogen highway during the Olympics.

Companies like Ford test drove its Focus FCV cars along the hydrogen corridor gathering information about operating hydrogen cars in cold weather conditions.

In addition to the British Columbia Hydrogen Highway Initiative, Canada also has invested in three other hydrogen initiatives as well. The Vancouver Fuel Cell Vehicle Project, Hydrogen-Powered Delivery Van Project and the Hydrogen High-Pressure Valve Development Project.

These three programs are part of the Canadian Transportation Fuel Cell Alliance's goal of moving Canada towards expanded use of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies.

© 2011, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

Hydrogen Powered Vehicles and Infrastructure in the Province of BC

British Columbia (BC) has announced incentives to increase their support for hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and infrastructure. These programs will help create Canada's first publicly accessible hydrogen refueling station. The initiatives were announced by the Government of BC as a part of its clean energy strategy.

A hydrogen fuel cell does not need to be recharged as it converts the chemical energy of fuel (hydrogen, natural gas, methanol, gasoline, etc.) and an oxidant (air or oxygen) into electricity. It produces almost no emissions.

BC already has the largest number of hydrogen fueling stations in Canada. More than $6 million in provincial funding has been earmarked for new charging stations and upgrades to hydrogen fueling stations at existing facilities.

The news was welcomed by the Canadian Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Association(CHFCA). The announcements from the province led Eric Denhoff, President and CEO of the CHFCA to say:

"These two initiatives are further evidence of the strong commitment the Government of BC has made to supporting British Columbia's world-leading hydrogen infrastructure, and the organizations involved in the province's hydrogen and fuel cell sector."

British Columbia is a world leader in hydrogen fuel cell transportation solutions. An estimated 75 per cent of Canadian fuel cell and hydrogen-based research and development expenditures have been invested in British Columbia.

The government of BC's investments in hydrogen are also creating green energy jobs in the province. The province is home to 35 hydrogen and fuel cell technology companies that employ 1,200 people. These companies include Ballard Power Systems, Angstrom Power, the Automotive Fuel Cell Cooperation, Powertech Labs, HTEC and Sacre-Davey Engineering.

The Automotive Fuel Cell Cooperation in Burnaby is a company that employs more than 200 people. The province also attracted Mercedes-Benz to build a fuel cell manufacturing facility in Burnaby. In March 2011, Mercedes-Benz Canada announced plans to build the new facility.

By 2016, global sales for the hydrogen and fuel cell sector are estimated to be $8.5 billion, creating an estimated 14,000 jobs in Canada. BC Transit already has fleet of 20 hydrogen-powered fuel cell buses in Whistler which is the largest deployment of its kind in the world.

"These announcements by the Government of BC create tremendous momentum for the hydrogen and fuel cell industry," said Mr. Denhoff. "We have world-class research and development at the NRC Institute for Fuel Cell Innovation and UBC's Clean Energy centre; world-leading manufacturing at Ballard and the Automotive Fuel Cell Cooperation; and a host of innovative small and medium enterprises supporting the research and development efforts in the province."

For more information about BC's hydrogen initiatives including which vehicles qualify under the new program click here.

© 2011, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

The B.C. Government's Greener Transportation Incentives

The Canadian province of British Columbia's SCRAP-IT® program provides financial remuneration for vehicles with poor fuel efficiency and incentives for greener forms of transportation. Reducing (inefficient) vehicular traffic improves air quality and reduces emissions.

The BC SCRAP-IT Society fund is already in operation and with new funding it will expand the program and remove even more high-polluting vehicles from B.C. roads. The SCRAP-IT Society has already removed over 30,000 vehicles from B.C. roads, resulting in a reduction of over 200,000 tonnes of GHGs. The program has a $2.5-million budget.

The success of the program has prompted Dennis Rogoza, CEO of the BC Scrap-It Society to say:

"We're excited about moving more power polluters off of B.C. roads. It's clear with programs like these, British Columbia is committed to providing greener options for a cleaner future. These older vehicles scrapped by our program represent emissions that are up to 60 times greater than that of newer vehicles"

The government of B.C. offers a total of seven programs that provide incentives to encourage greener transportation.

HERE ARE SEVEN INCENTIVE PROGRAMS:

Option #1
Replacement Vehicle - $300, $600 or $1,000*
(*based on CO2 emission reduction), PLUS a $250 discount at the point of sale

$300 for a reduction of up to 5 tonnes.

$600 for a reduction of 5.1 to 10 tonnes.

$1,000 for a reduction of 10.1 tonnes, or more.

Plus a $250 discount, before taxes, at the point of sale. Note: You must purchase or lease a 2004* or newer vehicle from a Participating Dealership in order to receive the discount.

Option #2
TransLink 3 Zone MultiPass - Lower Mainland
A 9 month 3 zone MultiPass

BC Transit ECOPASS - Victoria
A 1 year ECOPASS valid on the Victoria Regional Transit System.

Option #3
New Bike
Up to $500 off the purchase of a new bike. A 10% discount, up to $100 at the point of sale and the remainder, 40%, up to $400 directly from SCRAP-IT when you purchase your new bike from a Participating Bicycle Retailer.

Option #4
West Coast Express Passes
One of the following West Coast Express options:

MISSION AREA (Three 28 day passes)
MAPLE RIDGE AREA (Four 28 day passes)
TRI-CITIES AREA (Five 28 day passes)
INTER-SUBURBAN AREA (Seven 28 day passes)
or, if you are not a regular rider, a GO2 Card

Option #5
Car Sharing Credit
A $750 credit with one of the 3 following organizations:

• Modo The Car Co-op
• Zipcar
• The Victoria Car Share Co-Op

Option #6
Ride Sharing Credit
A $750 credit with RideShare, The Jack Bell Foundation

Option #7
$200 "Cash"

Approved applicants will receive an email approval letter with more details about each incentive offered.

© 2011, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

BC's Electric Vehicle Incentive Program

British Columbia’s provincial incentives for electric vehicles and home charging systems begin to take effect On December 1, 2011. B.C.'s new clean vehicle incentive program hopes to grow the sales of clean tech vehicles in the province with point of purchase incentives and supplementary incentive offerings to help build the required charging infrastructure for electric vehicles (EVs).

Environment Minister Terry Lake and Energy and Energy and Mines Minister Rich Coleman announced the 'Canada Starts Here: The BC Jobs Plan.' The government is supporting EVs and the green-tech sector with a fund valued at $17 million for that province.

Purchases of EVs can get rebates up to $5000 depending on battery size. Compressed natural gas vehicles will also qualify for a rebate. These financial incentives will help with early adopter uptake in the short-term and ensure a quicker payback period on the price premium for plug-in electric vehicles. These incentives are designed to help build the critical mass and production capacity required by OEMs to bring the costs of these vehicles down in the longer-term.

In other provinces full-functioning electrics qualify for slightly higher rebates than the hybrid options but in B.C. purchasing the fully electric Nissan LEAF qualifies for the same rebate as the Chevrolet Volt.

These investments have prompted Blair Qualey, CEO, New Car Dealers Association of B.C. to say:

"The point-of-sale rebate program is key to attracting new clean energy vehicles to the B.C. market. Manufacturers are eager to launch their new electric, plug-in hybrid electric and fuel cell cars in markets that demonstrate both high demand and with infrastructure in place - B.C. is now one of those markets."

According to Environment Canada, the British Columbia electrical grid is the third cleanest in the country with an electricity intensity of only 20 grams of CO2 equivalent emitted for every kilowatt-hour (kWh) produced.

Homeowners in B.C. that install a dedicated EV charging station in their homes will also qualify for an additional $500 rebate. Battery-powered electric vehicles should cost as little as $300 per year in electricity bills compared to upwards of $1,500 per year to fuel a gas-powered car.

For more information on B.C.'s cleaner vehicle programs click here.

© 2011, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

Canadian Electric Vehicle Incentive Programs

Three Canadian provinces offer incentives for the purchase of an electric vehicle (EV). Ontario was the first province to offer EV incentives followed by B.C. and Quebec.

A battery electric vehicle (EV) is a vehicle that is powered by electricity and contains a battery to store energy. There are two main types of EVs: conventional hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) and grid-connected vehicles that include plug-in hybrid battery electric vehicles (PHEVs) and battery electric vehicles (BEVs)Unlike HEVs, PHEVs and BEVs have larger capacity batteries that can be recharged by plugging in to the electricity grid. Only new PHEVs and BEVs are eligible for the incentive program.

Although the incentives for EVs differ from province to province, the maximum goes as high as $8,500.

Ontario's program commenced in July 2010, B.C.'s program went into effect in December 2011 and Quebec's program will come online in January 2012.

Canada is a large country with vast expanses of uninhabited land. For EVs to make significant inroads they will have to be more practical (ie: get better mileage on a single charge).

It is no coincidence that the three provinces offering EV incentives are also the wealthiest non-oil producing provinces with the greatest population densities.

© 2011, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.