Ontario Doubling Hydrogen Innovation Fund to $30 Million to Protect Ontario Jobs

Expanded program will support more cutting-edge hydrogen projects

The Ontario government is launching a new round of the Hydrogen Innovation Fund, investing $30 million to unlock hydrogen’s potential to drive economic growth, create jobs and support the province’s position as a leader in the clean energy economy. The new fund 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.

“The potential of hydrogen is immense, with applications in transportation, manufacturing and heavy industry already transforming how we power our economy,” said Sam Oosterhoff, Associate Minister of Energy-Intensive Industries. “With Ontario’s excellence in the nuclear sector, our history of energy innovation and growth is already second to none. Renewing the Hydrogen Innovation Fund builds on this and will protect Ontario workers and jobs, while securing our province’s economic future. Investing in hydrogen will create thousands of good-paying jobs across the province. This investment means choosing to back Ontario jobs, competitiveness, and long-term prosperity.”

The Hydrogen Innovation Fund will kickstart and develop opportunities for hydrogen to play a bigger role in Ontario’s integrated energy system. The Hydrogen Innovation Fund will do this by 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.

The 2023 Hydrogen Innovation Fund supported 15 groundbreaking hydrogen projects across Ontario that utilized hydrogen as a clean alternative fuel or used hydrogen to generate more electricity. Natural Resources Canada modelling shows that 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. By investing early in Ontario’s hydrogen sector, the government is setting the stage for long-term economic growth, creating good-paying jobs today and securing Ontario’s prosperity for tomorrow.

“Ontario needs much more power to drive growth in our economy. With hydrogen expected to make up nearly 20 percent of the country’s energy use by 2050, our government is seizing the moment by doubling funding to unlock hydrogen’s full potential,” said Stephen Lecce, Minister of Energy and Mines. “The world has changed with the election of President Trump. That is why our government is embracing an ‘all of the above’ strategy to secure affordable Canadian energy sources, as we work to end dependency on the United States.”

Ontario released its Low-Carbon Hydrogen Strategy in April 2022, which outlined the opportunity to draw on Ontario’s clean energy advantage and establish a leadership position in the supply, distribution, storage and use of clean hydrogen. The government recently sought feedback on a renewed Low-Carbon Hydrogen Strategy and will announce further details in the near future.

Expanding Ontario’s Hydrogen Innovation Fund is just one part of Ontario’s Affordable Energy Future, the government’s vision as it plans for rising energy demand, which includes:

Energy Planning – Developing the province’s first integrated energy plan, including all energy resources, such as electricity, natural gas, and other fuels to ensure the province’s energy needs are met in a coordinated and long-term manner.
Nuclear Energy – Advancing clean, reliable, and affordable nuclear power through pre-development work at Bruce Power on the province’s first large-scale nuclear build in 30 years, four small modular reactors at Darlington and supporting Ontario Power Generation Inc.’s plan for refurbishing the Pickering Nuclear Generation Station.
New Transmission Infrastructure – Designating and prioritizing transmission lines in Southwestern, Northeastern and Eastern Ontario that will power job creation, including electric vehicle (EV) and EV battery manufacturing and clean steel production.
Keeping Costs Down – Launching new energy efficiency programs, which build on the government’s $342 million expansion of existing energy efficiency programs which are helping families and businesses reduce electricity usage and save money on energy bills.
Additional Competitive Procurements – Launching the largest competitive procurement of clean energy resources in the province’s history in addition to successfully re-contracting existing capacity resources at about a 30 per cent discount.

Learn more: https://news.ontario.ca/en/release/1005717/ontario-doubling-hydrogen-innovation-fund-to-30-million-to-protect-ontario-jobs