Air Liquide Canada is leading this C$14 million (US$13.3m) project in collaboration with Natural Resources Canada, the governments of British Columbia and Québec, and 14 participating companies. Vancouver International Airport joins Pierre-Elliott-Trudeau International Airport in Montréal in the hydrogen energy demonstration project.

‘We are extremely pleased to contribute to British Columbia’s Hydrogen Highway initiative by showcasing our hydrogen technologies at Vancouver International Airport,’ says Luc Doyon, President/CEO of Air Liquide Canada. ‘As we near the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, this exciting demonstration program will be observed by millions of travellers coming to Vancouver for the Games and beyond.’

Air Liquide is developing the entire hydrogen energy supply chain, from the production, storage, distribution, and safe handling of hydrogen to the development and manufacture of advanced fuel cells.

To support car manufacturers in the development of their hydrogen-powered vehicles, Air Liquide has developed fueling stations to fill hydrogen tanks with pressurized hydrogen up to 700 bar (10 000 psi). These stations complete the fill-up in less than five minutes, and as easily and safely as for a gasoline stop. Air Liquide has already supplied nearly 40 hydrogen fueling stations around the world.

In British Columbia, Air Liquide is providing the fueling infrastructure and hydrogen to support BC Transit’s 20 fuel cell powered buses in Vancouver and Whistler, the world’s largest such fleet. Air Liquide is also participating in numerous projects to fuel cars, buses, and forklift trucks in Prince Edward Island, Québec, and Ontario.

In the US, Air Liquide has supplied four 700 bar, portable fast-fill hydrogen fueling systems to General Motors and Shell Hydrogen in Washington DC, California, and New York. Air Liquide has also installed a hydrogen fueling station at Albany International Airport in upstate New York.