The Government of Canada has launched its Hydrogen Strategy, a 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 a 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 Canada’s annual greenhouse gas emissions by up to 45 million metric tonnes a year in 2030 and could create up to 350,000 new jobs in Canada by 2050, the government said.

The Strategy is designed to spur investment and partnerships to establish Canada as a global supplier of hydrogen, and to increase domestic production. As one of the top 10 producers of hydrogen in the world, Canada would benefit from the growing global demand for hydrogen—a market that some expect 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. The use of hydrogen across the country will lower the emissions of sectors such as resources extraction, transportation, power generation and manufacturing.

The Strategy is the result of three years of research and analysis, with input from 1,500 leading experts and stakeholders including workers, industry, other levels of government, Indigenous organizations, and academia. It will support the Government of Canada’s recently announced climate plan and also builds on the development and launch of the hydrogen initiative by 23 countries at the 10th Clean Energy Ministerial meeting in May 2019. Under Canada’s leadership, that initiative focused on accelerating the global commercialization of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies across all sectors of the economy.