Alberta has lofty hopes for the hydrogen energy market. But there are still a few gaps to be filled

It would seem the hydrogen energy market has caught the eye of Alberta's new premier, Danielle Smith. 

In a recent interview with the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce, Smith lauded the fuel source and Alberta's potential future role in delivering it to the world. 

"There's been something quite dramatic that has happened in this province in probably the last five years," she told the audience. 

"I watched the innovation and the innovators and the new ideas coming up. And I don't think I've ever seen our business community as aligned on this issue that we not only can do this, we can do it better than anyone else. 

"And that's the message that the rest of the world needs to hear."

Hydrogen is being touted globally as a key role in decarbonization as it produces zero emissions when used as a fuel source.

The International Energy Agency says hydrogen demand reached 94 million tonnes in 2021. It estimates it could reach 115 million tonnes by 2030 under current conditions, noting it is well below the 200 million tonnes needed by 2030 to be on track for net-zero emissions by 2050.

A Bloomberg outlook estimates that in the most optimistic scenario, hydrogen could provide up to 24 per cent of global energy demand — almost 700 million tonnes per year — by 2050.

Alberta has been using hydrogen for years as feedstock for industrial processes. It's now aiming to be a hydrogen giant with ambitions outlined in its 2021 Hydrogen Road Map.

By 2030, the province wants to have incorporated the energy source in its domestic system as well as "established itself as the global supplier-of-choice in clean hydrogen exports."

Alberta currently produces around 2.4 million tonnes of hydrogen per year. It aims to export three tonnes by the end of the decade.

Hydrogen is an abundant chemical element and energy carrier that is almost always found as part of a compound. It must be separated into pure hydrogen for use as a fuel.

That is achieved through a number of processes, including reforming natural gas or electricity splitting water into its elements.

The methods for production are often colour-coded according to their emissions. These include: