Two sites, one system
Hydrogen produced at the decommissioned Burrard Thermal Generating Station in Port Moody, dispensed at a centralized hub adjacent to Waterfront Station in downtown Vancouver. Two production pathways, twelve offtaker applications, shared infrastructure.
Geographic overview
System architecture
Burrard Thermal
Production campus, Port Moody
Distribution
Multi-modal delivery
Waterfront Hub
Dispensing, downtown Vancouver
Offtakers
12 applications
Burrard Thermal production campus
Built in 1962 as a 950 MW, six-unit natural gas power plant, the 193-acre BC Hydro-owned waterfront property in Port Moody retains infrastructure that would cost tens of millions of dollars and years of permitting to replicate on a greenfield site. Decommissioned in 2016 under the BC Clean Energy Act, the campus provides everything needed for commercial-scale hydrogen production.
Site infrastructure
- High-voltage grid interconnection rated for hundreds of MW, connected at three separate points (feedstock for electrolysis)
- FortisBC natural gas pipeline already on site (feedstock for methane pyrolysis)
- Deep-water port and CP Rail line along the West Coast Express corridor (distribution by barge, rail, and truck)
- 193 acres of industrially zoned Crown land with no residential adjacency, permitted for heavy energy use
Regulatory and political context
BC Hydro plans to reapply to the BCUC in 2026 for formal decommissioning of Burrard Thermal. No future use decision has been made. Port Moody council is actively seeking industrial reuse of the site. The existing synchronous condensers are reaching end of life.
The site sits in the federal riding of Port Moody-Coquitlam, represented by MP Zoe Royer (Liberal).
Waterfront dispensing hub
A centralized dispensing facility on VFPA federal land adjacent to Waterfront Station serves all marine, transit, and aviation offtakers within 500 metres.
Adjacent infrastructure
- SeaBus terminal (TransLink, 4 vessels, ~100 crossings/day)
- Hullo ferry terminal at Harbour Flight Centre (14 daily sailings to Nanaimo)
- Harbour Air seaplane terminal (200+ daily flights)
- West Coast Express platform (commuter rail to Mission)
- Harbour tug moorage (Seaspan, HaiSea Marine)
Dispensing equipment
- Street-level 700-bar dispensers for buses and drayage trucks
- Marine bunkering arm on a float structure for tugs and ferries
- Satellite dispensing node at Burrard Thermal for WCE (Port Moody station) and Tri-Cities transit
Hydrogen arrives from Burrard by tube trailer (25-minute drive), CP Rail, or barge via the deep-water port.
Production pathways
Two complementary pathways provide supply redundancy and cost optimization. Both use existing infrastructure at Burrard Thermal.
Electrolysis
Capacity: 20-40 MW PEM electrolyzer
Electricity rate: BC Hydro Rate 1894 (20% discount for clean industry)
LCOH: $3.27/kg
Oxygen byproduct: 8 kg per kg H2, sold to Seaspan, Metro Vancouver wastewater, and medical markets
Waste heat: Captured for Port Moody district energy
Grid-tied to BC Hydro's existing high-voltage interconnection at three points. Rate 1894 provides a 20% discount available until 2030, stepping down to 13% in year 6 and 7% in year 7.
Methane Pyrolysis
Feedstock: Existing FortisBC gas pipeline at Burrard
Emissions: Zero CO2 (thermal decomposition, no combustion)
Solid carbon: $1,500/t base case (premium carbon black, NA market)
Gross LCOH: $2.50/kg before carbon credit
Reference design: UBC Chemical Engineering, 18,250 t H2/year from 77,000 t natural gas/year
Uses the existing FortisBC gas pipeline at Burrard Thermal. No new pipeline construction required. Converts Montney formation natural gas from a $2/GJ commodity into hydrogen and solid carbon co-products.
Why two pathways
Redundancy: Either pathway can supply the full hub independently
Cost optimization: Pyrolysis provides lower-cost baseload; electrolysis responds to grid conditions and curtailment events
Grid services: Electrolysis acts as a flexible load for BC Hydro demand response
Sector support: Pyrolysis creates zero-emission demand for BC's natural gas sector through existing infrastructure
Blended LCOH across both pathways is lower than either pathway alone, while maintaining full supply security.
Distribution
Hydrogen moves from Burrard Thermal to the Waterfront hub and satellite nodes through three delivery modes, all using existing transportation infrastructure.
Tube trailer
25-minute drive from Burrard Thermal to Waterfront hub via Highway 7A or Barnet Highway. Standard compressed hydrogen tube trailers on existing roads. Primary delivery mode during Phase 1.
CP Rail
CP Rail line runs directly through the Burrard Thermal site along the West Coast Express corridor. Rail delivery enables bulk transport and serves mid-route dispensing nodes in later phases.
Barge
Deep-water port at Burrard Thermal enables barge delivery to the Waterfront hub and other coastal destinations. Also supports future LH2 or ammonia export via VFPA deep-water berths.
Why hydrogen for these applications?
Battery-electric vehicles are the right solution for short-range, light-duty applications. PDEC targets the applications where batteries cannot compete - those constrained by energy density, range, refuelling time, or weight.
Marine (ferries, tugs)
8-16 hour operating days, high power demand (5,760 kW per Hullo vessel), salt water environment
Battery weight displaces passenger and cargo capacity on vessels. Corvus electric ferries are limited to short routes (~30 min). The Horseshoe Bay-Nanaimo crossing (2 hr) is not feasible on battery alone.
3x energy density by weight vs lithium-ion. Refuel in 15-20 min vs hours to recharge. Ballard FCwave is DNV Type Approved for marine applications.
Heavy rail (West Coast Express)
80 km route, 5 heavy consists, diesel locomotives (EMD F59PHI)
A battery tender car would displace a passenger coach from the consist. The route is too long for catenary electrification to be economically justified.
Drop-in power car replacement for the existing locomotive. 600-bar tube car fits within the existing consist. Refuel at the terminal in minutes between runs.
Port operations (cranes, mobile equipment)
24/7 operations, high instantaneous power for crane lifts, extreme duty cycles
Battery swap logistics are disruptive to terminal operations. Fast charging infrastructure competes for limited grid capacity at port facilities.
Proven at DP World Centerm - Canada's first hydrogen fuel cell RTG crane. Refuel during shift change with no operational disruption. No grid upgrade needed.
Transit buses (80 FCEBs)
300+ km daily range, steep grades (SFU, UBC), cold weather performance requirements
Range degrades 30-40% in cold and hilly conditions. Mid-day recharging requires depot space and grid upgrades that TransLink's existing facilities cannot accommodate.
Consistent 400+ km range regardless of weather or terrain. 10-minute refuel vs 4-6 hour recharge. TransLink can reuse existing depot layouts without modification.
Aviation (Harbour Air)
Weight-critical application, 200+ daily flights, routes from 35 min to 75 min
Battery ePlane limited to sub-35 min routes. Tofino and Seattle routes (50-75 min) are out of range. Battery weight reduces payload on every flight.
Hydrogen-hybrid Twin Otter extends range to cover all routes including Tofino and Seattle. Weight advantage over batteries increases with distance.
Drayage trucks
400+ km daily range, heavy loads (Class 7/8), port-to-warehouse routes
Payload penalty from battery weight (2-3 tonnes per vehicle). Charging infrastructure at port gates creates bottlenecks during peak hours.
HTEC already operating 12 Hyundai XCIENT fuel cell trucks in BC. Refuel at port in 15 minutes. No payload penalty compared to diesel.
Read the full briefing
Detailed technical, economic, and partnership analysis in a single document.
Executive Briefing