Alberta’s first mobile hydrogen fuelling station launches in Edmonton

Alberta's first mobile hydrogen fuelling station is seen in southeast Edmonton on June 26, 2025. (CTV News Edmonton/Sean McClune)

The City of Edmonton has launched its first mobile hydrogen fuelling station for its fleet vehicles.

Located at the city’s fleet and facility services in Ellerslie, the Azolla Biodrome mobile fuelling station produces hydrogen services to light, medium and heavy-duty fleet vehicles.

This is the first of two stations that will operate in the city.

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“It’s a huge milestone for the city as we advance our exploration of hydrogen for municipal fleets,” said city manager Eddie Robar at the station’s unveiling Thursday. “This station gives us and our regional partners the opportunity to continue testing hydrogen in real world conditions for heavy and light duty vehicles.”

The Azolla Biodrome is a modular hydrogen fuelling system that combines on-site hydrogen production from methanol and deionized water with integrated compression, high-capacity storage and dispensing systems. The station stores hydrogen in 16 tanks with 600 kilograms of storage capacity.

The station was launched with the Alberta Zero Emissions Fleet Fuelling (AZEFF) project, a partnership between Edmonton, Strathcona County, Sturgeon County, the province, Emissions Reduction Alberta (ERA), the University of Alberta, the Transition Accelerator, Alberta Motor Transportation Association and Diesel Tech Industries. The pilot project, which will run until 2027, received $6.9 million in ERA funding in April 2024. Once the pilot is complete, the city and its partners will produce a report on the outcome of the project.

“This project is a great example of the initial types of initiatives that we are excited to invest in,” said Christophe Owttrim, executive director of technology and innovation at ERA. “It really shows what’s possible when innovation, collaboration and a commitment to advancing clean technologies comes together.

As the project evolves and expands, the station will serve Class-8 semis, dump trucks, refuse trucks and plow trucks from the City of Edmonton as well as from Strathcona and Sturgeon Counties.

A second fuelling station is scheduled to open at a different location within the city next year.

The city currently has a fleet of hydrogen vehicles including one dual-fuel waste collection truck, one dual-fuel transit bus, one hydrogen fuel cell electric bus and two Toyota Mirai vehicles. Another dual-fuel waste long haul truck and transit bus will be converted and added to the fleet at some point.

Arjun Sharma, branch manager of Fleet and Facility Services for the city said the opening of the station represents progress in advancing hydrogen as a viable fuel source for municipal and business operations.

“Transitioning to a lower carbon footprint fleet is essential,” said Sharma. “Not only to meet our climate goals, but also to manage rising fuel costs, respond to evolving regulations and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”