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Edmonton and the Hydrogen Economy

Across for the convention centre and there was quite the stream of people heading in this morning. Lots of suits. Also on my commute in I noticed a bus doing the hotel rounds with a sign on it saying convention bus.
 
Few hundred to just over a thousand, I figure, considering how many people I'm seeing here and how many should still show up over the next couple of days. Our company alone brought 6 people and we're a small shop.
Apparently 2000 watching Kenney and '3000-4000 attendees' (likely a mix of virtual and in-person).
 
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The premier also spoke about a $50 million investment over the next four years to create the Clean Hydrogen Centre of Excellence. The centre will be a “pillar in Alberta’s Hydrogen Roadmap” and “will bring together industry, researchers and small businesses,” according to a government release.

“We’re hoping to leverage additional investments from the federal government and the private sector to turn it into a $200 million investment overall,” said Doug Schweitzer, the minister of jobs, economy and innovation.

The centre will be in Edmonton and run by Alberta Innovates, a government corporation responsible for promoting innovation in the province.


Anyone have any details on this Center of Excellence? Is this an actual building that will be built at the U of A or somewhere or is this just a figurative center?
 
Anyone have any details on this Center of Excellence? Is this an actual building that will be built at the U of A or somewhere or is this just a figurative center?

This doesn't seem like a centre in Edmonton specifically.

Laura Kilcrease, Alberta Innovates CEO, said following Kenney’s speech the centre won’t have a central facility, but will work out of several existing locations throughout the province, including C-FER Technologies and Innotech in Edmonton. Kilcrease wasn’t able to immediately provide an estimate of how many jobs will be directly created through the centre’s work, since it’s dependent on how many private-sector proposals come forward
 
I've said this before but I really hope these agreements and all this activity is also leading to companies looking to relocate in the area to support their hydrogen projects and activity. We obviously have the inputs, the infrastructure, the raw materials, but we also have the human capital and U of A too. This would be a big missed opportunity if we end up attracting all this investment while the engineering, planning, researching, and decision making jobs for hydrogen continues to set up shop elsewhere (Calgary) while site operations are here.

We need more companies fully investing in the area and less Shell, Dow, Nutrien, etc. where only the plants are located in Edmonton and everything else is located in Calgary. Hydrogen is now the opportunity to accomplish this.
 

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