Expanded Program Will Support More Cutting-Edge Hydrogen Projects
NEWS
March 31, 2025
BEAMSVILLE – The Ontario government is launching a new round of the Hydrogen Innovation Fund, investing $30 million to unlock hydrogen's potential to drive economic growth, create jobs and support the province's position as a leader in the clean energy economy. The new fund will have double the budget of the $15 million 2023 fund and broaden eligibility criteria to include electricity grid-focused initiatives, as well as applications across other sectors, such as transportation.
"The potential of hydrogen is immense, with applications in transportation, manufacturing and heavy industry already transforming how we power our economy," said Sam Oosterhoff, MPP for Niagara West.
"With Ontario's excellence in the nuclear sector, our history of energy innovation and growth is already second to none. Renewing the Hydrogen Innovation Fund builds on this and will protect Ontario workers and jobs, while securing our province's economic future. Investing in hydrogen will create thousands of good-paying jobs across the province, including in Niagara. This investment means choosing to back Ontario jobs, competitiveness, and long-term prosperity."
The Hydrogen Innovation Fund will kickstart and develop opportunities for hydrogen to play a bigger role in Ontario's integrated energy system. The Hydrogen Innovation Fund will do this by supporting projects across two streams:
Projects with direct electricity system benefits, including the integration of low-carbon hydrogen into the electricity grid. Eligible projects would include hydrogen storage and generation, peaking generation capacity, supporting services, and long-term or seasonal storage of surplus renewable energy.
- Projects enabling broader energy and other sector applications, including transportation, manufacturing and heavy industry. Eligible projects would include hydrogen production and storage for non-electricity applications, switching existing hydrogen users to low-carbon hydrogen produced in Ontario, creating hydrogen hubs, or the development of new methods to connect hydrogen producers with end-users.
"Ontario needs much more power to drive growth in our economy," said Hon. Stephen Lecce, Minister of Energy and Mines.
"With hydrogen expected to make up nearly twenty percent of the country's energy use by 2050, our government is seizing the moment by doubling funding to unlock hydrogen's full potential."
The 2023 Hydrogen Innovation Fund supported fifteen groundbreaking hydrogen projects across Ontario, including Atura Power's Niagara Hydrogen Centre in Niagara Falls. The Niagara Hydrogen Centre will utilize excess water that would otherwise have been spilled over Niagara Falls to create clean electricity that will be used to produce clean hydrogen.
Natural Resources Canada modelling shows that hydrogen could make up as much as eighteen percent of the country's energy use by 2050 and create up to 135,000 jobs across Canada. By investing early in Ontario's hydrogen sector, the government is setting the stage for long-term economic growth, creating good-paying jobs today and securing Ontario’s prosperity for tomorrow.
Ontario released its Low-Carbon Hydrogen Strategy in April 2022, which outlined the opportunity to draw on Ontario’s clean energy advantage and establish a leadership position in the supply, distribution, storage and use of clean hydrogen. The government recently sought feedback on a renewed Low-Carbon Hydrogen Strategy and will announce further details in the near future.
Expanding Ontario's Hydrogen Innovation Fund is just one part of Ontario's Affordable Energy Future, the government's vision as it plans for rising energy demand.
Quick Facts:
- The government intends for the Independent Electricity System Operator to administer the 2025 Hydrogen Innovation Fund. Successful applicants for the new and expanded Hydrogen Innovation Fund are expected to be notified in early 2026.
- According to the experts at the Independent Electricity System Operator, hydrogen could play a critical role in a zero-emissions electricity grid.
- The Pathways to Decarbonization Report of the Independent Electricity System Operator included a scenario that incorporated 15,000 megawatts of hydrogen generation capacity by 2050 to meet peak demands.
- Hydrogen is a versatile fuel that can be used for transportation, industrial processes, and energy storage.
- Fifteen successful hydrogen projects were announced in October and November 2023 as part of the 2023 Hydrogen Innovation Fund, with a total cost of $13.8 million.
Additional Resources: