Success Stories

Fuel Cell Research Surging Ahead to Make Clean, Green Fuel a Reality

Dr. Brant Peppley instructs Adam Shaw (right) and Ed Thomas on conductivity testing of polymer composites that may be used in developing new fuel cells.

With the environment a top concern for Canadians, the pressure is on to reduce green- house gas emissions – and do it quickly.

That’s one of the goals of the Ontario Fuel Cell Research and Innovation Network. Formed in August 2005, the network is a partnership between industry and researchers at eight universities across Ontario that aims to harness the potential of fuel cell technology.

Fuel cells are devices that can produce electrical power from a wide range of fuels, including hydrogen, natural gas, propane, biogas and conventional liquid fuels like kerosene, gasoline and diesel. And they do it cleanly, quietly and efficiently.

“No other energy generation technology offers the combination of benefits that fuel cells do,” says Dr. Brant Peppley, director of the network and a Canada Research Chair in Fuel Cells.

But, as Dr. Peppley explains, there are formidable challenges to making fuel cells commercially viable. They must be more reliable, more durable and more cost-effective before they’ll be widely adopted.  It’s those challenges the Ontario Fuel Cell Research and Innovation Network is tackling with $5.5 million in help from the McGuinty government’s Ontario Research Fund, a program of the Ministry of Research and Innovation.

“Ontario is uniquely positioned to commercialize fuel cell research and development,” says Dr. Peppley. “We have some of the world’s best researchers in the areas of alternative fuels and advanced materials and manufacturing.  We also have a collaborative approach to research that helps accelerate solutions and a strong history of working with the private sector.”

But, as Dr. Peppley points out, the fuel cell industry is about to explode and Ontario’s window of opportunity is the next five years.

“That’s all the time we have to establish ourselves as a major player in the field – and that’s the network’s goal,” he says.

In the process, the network expects to create up to 1,000 new skilled jobs in the design and manufacture of fuel cell components and systems, up to 20 new businesses in the sector and as many as 100 highly qualified personnel at the masters and doctoral levels who can drive the growth of the industry.

“The potential economic impact for Ontario is huge,” says Dr. Peppley.

Jane Dalziel of Mississauga-based Hydrogenics, a leader in the commercialization of fuel cell products, agrees.

“The stakes are high,” she says. “The competition is fierce for the economic boom that we believe hydrogen and fuel cells are capable of producing. We’re well positioned in Ontario to capitalize on our R&D expertise and establish our industry as a world leader in supplying long-term clean energy solutions.”

Adds Dr. Peppley, “Over and above the benefits for Ontario are the global benefits inherent in this clean technology,” says Dr. Peppley. “We have the potential to give a gift to the world that can improve human and environmental health and I’m very hopeful we’ll be successful.”