Connecting hubs to decarbonize Western Canada

How Alberta’s hydrogen hubs are accelerating momentum across Western Canada

June 24, 2025

At the 2025 Canadian Hydrogen Convention, three leaders in Alberta’s hydrogen economy took to the Edmonton Global Stage to discuss how hubs accelerate the momentum of hydrogen adoption across Western Canada — through strategic collaboration and engagement.

Brent Lakeman (Executive Director of the Edmonton Region Hydrogen HUB), Zak Cunningham (Lead of the Calgary Region Hydrogen Hub) and Rebecca Goldsack (Chair of Hydrogen Alberta and COO of Diesel Tech Industries) joined Kessia Kopecky of Edmonton Global for a conversation about what it takes to build a sustainable hydrogen economy across Western Canada.

Collaboration as a foundation

To build a hydrogen economy that delivers real results, collaboration can’t be optional, it must be the foundation. On stage, speakers pointed to the critical role hubs play in bringing fragmented efforts together, aligning priorities, and setting the pace for coordinated action across regions and sectors.

Emphasizing the power of collaboration, Brent highlighted how hydrogen hubs help turn fragmented efforts across industry into a unified strategy. “Hubs allow us to work together — beyond single projects or companies — to show what a coordinated hydrogen economy can look like,” Brent said. “That’s what attracts investment, builds public confidence, and sets the stage for long-term success.”

Building a unified strategy, however, also depends on a strong foundation of knowledge and alignment. Zak expanded on this, explaining that hubs play a critical role in organizing the early work needed to build confidence in the sector. “If we want to accelerate hydrogen, we need more than market forces,” he said. “Hubs bring the right people together, identify gaps, and help us move forward with confidence.”

That momentum, once underway, also needs to be scaled — and shared. Rebecca emphasized Alberta’s unique strengths and the importance of using them to bring more players into the hydrogen economy. “We’ve got the industrial base, the workforce, and the experience ... Now we need to share what we’re learning, scale it, and bring more people into the conversation.”

Connecting Western Canada

Alberta’s hydrogen hubs are doing more than advancing local projects — they’re shaping the foundation of a unified, scalable hydrogen economy across Western Canada. With distinct strengths in both the Edmonton region and Calgary, collaboration between hubs helps unlock efficiencies, prevent duplication, and accelerate adoption across sectors and geographies.

Brent emphasized how this cross-regional alignment is crucial, especially for transportation. “Vehicles aren’t staying in one place — they’re moving between cities and provinces,” he said. “Being able to connect those hubs is really critical. We need consistency, alignment, and awareness about what’s happening across the region.”

Zak Cunningham echoed that sentiment, pointing to the value of coordination when building hydrogen infrastructure along interprovincial corridors. “How do you optimize the amount of infrastructure needed so you're not overbuilding while also not falling short on demand?” he asked. “That’s the balance regional collaboration helps us achieve.”

Rebecca Goldsack underlined the importance of shared learning and transferability and how it can influence the broader hydrogen economy in Western Canada. “We can do this here in Alberta, Edmonton, Calgary — all these regions — and then we can take it and move it to other regions and give them our key learnings,” she said. “What’s worked, what hasn’t worked — so that it’s really scalable to all markets.”

From infrastructure planning to stakeholder engagement, the panel made one thing clear: building a hydrogen economy takes more than projects. It takes trust, coordination, and constant communication. Connection and alignment between hubs can drive momentum forward and keep everyone looking in the same direction.