One strong national voice as hydrogen and fuel cells associations negotiate merger

Faced with an unprecedented economic downturn and lack of support at the federal level, Canada's hydrogen and fuel cells associations have opted to have merge and provide their industries with a stronger unified voice. The Vancouver based Hydrogen and Fuel Cells Canada (H2FCC) — formerly Fuel Cells Canada — and the Canadian Hydrogen Association (CHA) will now be known as the Canadian Hydrogen and Fuel Cells Association (CHFCA).

"It seemed preferable to have one national organization to stimulate the development of the sector and commercialization," says John Tak, president and CEO of CHFCA and formerly president and CEO of H2FCC. "This will allow us to use our resources more carefully and use one voice to advocate to government."

The CHFCA will have its first opportunity to convince government that increased support is both necessary and justified when members meet with government officials and others in Ottawa next month.

There's a lot to talk about. The federal fuel cells strategy which sat on the shelf for more than two years has been officially abandoned, leaving Canada without a guiding framework for the industry and supporting research enterprise. The $213 million, five-year commitment to fuel cells R&D expired and has not been replaced. The sector must now compete with seven other energy sectors for funding from the $215-million Eco Energy Technology Initiative.

"A Canadian strategy would help to focus the government's policies and help with branding of those policies," says Tak. "We would like to see an increase in funding support that matches the size of the sector and our place globally."

While industry derives some funding from Sustainable Development Technologies Canada and programs like Hydrogen Highway and Hydrogen Village have been renewed, the lack of policy attention and financial support is allowing other nations to pull ahead. Tak says the fuel cell and hydrogen industries are excellent examples of industries that spend heavily on R&D, enable a whole range of other industries and employ in excess of 30,000 people.

"We are the poster child of the government's new Science and Technology Strategy. We conduct far more industry R&D. We have a ratio of 80:20 private to public, while the Canadian average is 53:47," he says. "We're also an enabling technology. We can work with the oil and gas sector and work with solar and wind."

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