I recently received a response to an access to information request I’d filed with Transport Canada asking for a briefing note prepared for Minister Lawrence Cannon on Sept. 22, 2006 about British Columbia’s Hydrogen Highway. Here is the “Key Message” from that note:
For more than 20 years the Government of Canada has supported the development of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies with a total contribution of approximately $300 million. In 2003, the government announced a further investment of $215 million in Research & Development and commercialization initiatives. The Government of Canada, with the new funding allocations to this area, spends about $60 million per year on hydrogen and fuel cells. While industry acknowledges the support it has received to date, it is quick to point out that additional support is required, particularly in light of growing support international competitors are receiving domestically.
So what you're saying is that it took the Conservative government more than a year to respond to your request for what seems like a relatively innocuous document. There seems to be a lot of that happening.
Government support for the hydrogen and fuel cell sector is not $60 million per year; in fact for 2007 it's below $30 million per year. The government of Canada committed $215 over five years (April 2003 to March 2008), however in reviewing that commitment in 2006 cut programs like Hydrogen Early Adopters rather than allowing them to complete their funding mandate at the end of March this year.
Here's something that's not well known: funding for the hydrogen and fuel cell sector comes primarily from private sector investors, both domestic and international. More than 85% of the research and development has been done by, and financed by, the private sector – not the public sector. Compare this with the typical private-public R&D investment ratio in Canada which is about 50:50.
The private sector has invested more than $200 million per year ($1 billion over the last five years) in developing this technology which is now seeing early commercialzation witnessed by purchases by large companies like Walmart in the US. More significantly, this R&D investment represents more than 30% of total energy R&D investment in Canada by the private sector. No other clean energy technology sector in Canada invests private money in R&D (in Canada) to this extent. Wind is great but we import this technology from countries like Denmark who developed it in partnership with their private sector.
Federal program support for the H2/FC sector in Canada is declining at a time when other countries (US, Japan, EU, Korea, China) seeing what Canada has accomplished, have set in place national strategies to develop their hydrogen and fuel cell sectors. Denmark has developed and implemented a National Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Strategy. A national strategy developed from national consultations exists in Natural Resources Canada, but has not gone to cabinet for consideration.
Our sector wants to continue financing growth primarily from private investment. However, private investment will flow to those countries that share the investment risk through government partnerships and programs. At the current time, investors have no way to clearly understand the level or type of Canadian government support for our hydrogen and fuel cell sector.
Government support to date has been an important factor in the technical progress and success achieved to date. As commercialization accelerates, we need a more balanced partnership with government to ensure the benefits of investment to date accrues to Canada. A national strategy will play a critical role in this regard.
John W. Tak
President and CEO
Hydrogen & Fuel Cells Canada (H2FCC)
4250 Wesbrook Mall
Vancouver, BC
Canada V6T 1W5
Direct Tel: 604-822-9849
E-mail: jtak@h2fcc.ca
Delays in the processing of access requests are now beyond silly. I'm not sure this is as a Conservative or Liberal thing but it is a government thing. Governments in general don't like people poking around in its files. Successive federal governments, as the Information Commissioner has found in his annual reports, have done a lousy job at being swift processors of access requests.
Where are we at with funding now, just one year away from the 2010 winter games?