Owen Sound’s operations committee wants to find out if it’s feasible to use hydrogen as an energy source for some of the city’s machinery.
A motion passed at the May 18 operations committee meeting to direct staff to provide a preliminary, exploratory report on the ability, feasibility and potential risks of converting the city’s ice resurfacing, sidewalk and park equipment to use hydrogen as fuel.
“Whereas hydrogen is a carbon-free energy that produces water and hydrogen fuel cells that power electric motors … there is also technology to convert gas and diesel combustion engines to use hydrogen fuel,” says committee member Meghan Robertson, who introduced the motion.
Robertson also mentions in her motion a manufacturer in Owen Sound will produce excess carbon-free hydrogen in the development of their green hydrogen product systems, referring to Hydrogen Optimized.
The company located in the former Tenneco plant on 17th Street East focuses on generating green hydrogen through its patented water electrolysis system.
“I recently ran into somebody from Hydrogen Optimized … and they say they can now inject up to 20 per cent hydrogen into a diesel engine without having to convert it,” says Owen Sound Mayor Ian Boddy. “There’s lots of neat technology out there, so it may be more than just the equipment (Robinson) mentioned. It could be all diesel vehicles. It would be fun to explore.”
“Hydrogen Optimized is producing hydrogen. They’re blowing it off right now,” continues Boddy. “They can contain it. And if we are to do this, there’s other people they could find to use some of it as well.”
Operations committee member Mike Crone calls the motion “wonderful” but “premature” because of the lack of commercial availability of hydrogen in Ontario. He also shares a concern about the potential costs involved in converting city machinery for hydrogen energy use.
“What concerns me is my previous experience with bio-fuel, and bio-diesel, and where that went and where it didn’t go,” says Crone, a former director of public works at city hall. “To convert vehicles is probably in the area of $10,000 to $15,000 each, plus the ability to dispense that fuel into the vehicle. My suggestion would be to include some language … (where) one individual could be looking at that across the city, rather than different departments looking at it.”
Owen Sound City Manager Tim Simmonds: “The way I would look at this is to assign this task, this job, to a single individual within the corporation who would oversee it. Because yes, there’s fleet equipment everywhere.”
Simmonds also speaks to Crone’s concern about the availability of hydrogen, saying “there’s some indication we could have a hydrogen fueling station put in if we advance this. Not at a city facility, but at a nearby facility.”
Mayor Boddy adds: “The motion is to collect that information and bring it back … that report is just to find out. And the answer may be ‘bad idea, it’s never going to work or it’s premature by 20 years.’ But let’s find out.”