2007/116 (a)

BACKGROUNDER

Canada's Leadership in Hydrogen Technology Honoured at World Energy Congress

About the International Partnership for the Hydrogen Economy

The International Partnership for the Hydrogen Economy was created in November 2003 to serve as a mechanism to organize and implement effective, efficient and focused international research, development, demonstration and commercial activities related to hydrogen and fuel cell technologies. It also provides a forum for advancing policies, and common codes and standards that can accelerate the cost-effective transition to a global hydrogen economy to enhance energy security and environmental protection.

The members of the IPHE are Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, European Commission, France, Germany, Iceland, India, Italy, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Norway, Russia, United Kingdom, and the United States. For more information, visit www.iphe.net.

About the Hydrogen Highway

Targeted for full implementation by the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in Whistler and Vancouver, the Hydrogen Highway brings together a consortium of organizations to design, build, operate, test and evaluate a hydrogen fuelling infrastructure in southwest British Columbia. A wide variety of transportation, stationary, portable and micro power applications utilize the infrastructure.

Today, the Hydrogen Highway features four dedicated hydrogen fuelling stations as well as mobile fuelling systems serving five Ford Focus Fuel Cell vehicles, nine hydrogen internal combustion engine GMC Sierra pickup trucks, four hydrogen and compressed natural gas transit buses, a fuel-cell powered airport baggage tug, a solid-oxide stationary power system and a PEM fuel cell back-up power application. By 2009, the BC Hydrogen Highway will feature the world's largest deployment of fuel cell buses in regular transit service. For more information, visit www.hydrogenhighway.ca

About the IPHE Technical Achievement Award

The IPHE Technical Achievement Award recognizes individuals, organizations or international projects from the public or private sector that have significantly accelerated the transition to the international hydrogen economy and, through technology, increased the knowledge of the hydrogen economy among policymakers and the general public.

The Hydrogen Highway program exemplifies the mission of the IPHE to organize and implement effective, efficient and focused international research, development, demonstration and commercial utilization activities that advance the transition to a global hydrogen economy.

For more information, media may contact:

Louise Girouard
Director of Communications
Office of the Minister
Natural Resources Canada
Ottawa
613-996-2007

The general public may contact:

Mon-Fri, 8:30-4:30 EDT
Telephone: 613-995-0947
TTY: 613-996-4397s
(teletype for the hearing-impaired)
E-mail: questions@nrcan.gc.ca

NRCan's news releases and backgrounders are available at www.nrcan.gc.ca/media.