Winter 2021
Welcome to Hydra’s winter newsletter!
2021 has certainly been a challenging year for so many around the world. Here in British Columbia, the search for low-carbon solutions has been brought to the forefront after the heat domes of the summer and the ongoing floods. As we look back on the past six months at Hydra, we are so grateful for the hard work of our staff, the support of our partners, and the ability to share with you some happy news and exciting accomplishments.
In October Hydra achieved an important company and industry milestone becoming the first company ever to deliver a hydrogen-converted, heavy-duty vehicle to a paying fleet customer. After previously closing a $15M investment from Just Business, and completing three years of on-road technology testing, the first of twelve trucks was converted and delivered to Prince George-based Lodgewood Enterprises.
Hydra CIO Badr Abduljawad and Lodgewood President Arlene Gagne stand alongside Lodgewood’s new hydrogen-converted truck after its first commercial run.
As Lodgewood President Arlene Gagne stated during the announcement and supporting media event, “It was an easy decision to adopt Hydra’s low-risk, co-combustion technology to begin reducing emissions immediately without negatively impacting truck performance, warranty, and driver experience.” Through our innovative HaaS™ business model and practical co-combustion approach, we’ve commercially delivered the only low-cost, end-to-end green trucking solution for commodity haulers available right now.
Be sure to check out some of our supporting media coverage with CBC Radio, CKPG, My PG Now, Prince George Citizen, Van Tech Journal, the Toronto Star, and our exclusive video tour of the first Lodgewood truck inside and out. Visit our YouTube channel to watch as the first load of poles is delivered!
That wasn’t the only big B.C. news for us in past months. The Province of British Columbia announced their hydrogen strategy and included Hydra in their report. The Province also released its CleanBC Roadmap closing the gap to meet their 2030 emissions target. The roadmap outlines new targets to reduce the emission intensity of the movement of goods starting at 10% by 2030 up to 50% by 2050. The opportunity to decarbonize the heavy-duty transport sector sooner with solutions like our hydrogen-diesel, co-combustion technology will play a crucial role in meeting the Province’s targets.
Then to close off the year, Hydra was named one of the Foresight 50, a list of Canada’s most investable cleantech ventures from the B.C.-based cleantech accelerator.
Finally our CEO, Jessica Verhagen, was named Business in Vancouver’s Forty Under 40. This caps off a strong year for Jessica after she has been regularly sought out as a voice in climate change discussions, authoring pieces on getting over the rainbow to decarbonize hydrogen power and reducing greenhouse gas emissions in trucking.
Hydra continues to be recognized as a critical part of Canada’s Net-Zero strategy. The Net-Zero Advisory Body of experts that the federal government appointed invited Jessica to speak in person about the role solutions like Hydra can play alongside CNRL and Scotiabank. In August the Government of Canada awarded us a $219k grant as part of the Low Carbon Economy Challenge. This funding has helped accelerate our conversion of the first twelve heavy-duty trucks using our hydrogen-diesel co-combustion conversion kit resulting in a 67-tonnes reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per truck each year, equivalent to the average carbon footprint of over four Canadians.
As government commitments to hydrogen technology gained momentum around the world this year and federal and regional support like the Low Carbon Economy Challenge escalates, the Hydra team continues to play its part by delivering real hydrogen now. We understand that it will take many different solutions to decarbonize transportation but we also know it takes viable business models that make the transition for fleet owners more economically feasible for commercial rollout at scale. We’re proud of the contribution we’ve made this year to advancing the adoption of hydrogen-based trucking solutions sooner than later and look forward to more exciting developments in 2022.
Thank you to all of our colleagues, partners, and friends who have joined us on the journey so far. From our team to yours we wish you the very best this holiday season and a bright and safe 2022!
Notice something different? Hydra has a new logo! Bold orange and blue hues marry together the water element of hydrogen with the fire of combustion, a three-headed flame pays tribute to the Greek myth from which Hydra’s name was chosen, and the droplet in the center is an homage to our original logo. We hope you enjoy the fresh new look as much as we do.
