The province is laying the groundwork for cleaner energy in Alberta.

On Friday (Nov.5), Premier Jason Kenney and associate minister of natural gas and electricity, Dale Nally, unveiled the Alberta Hydrogen Roadmap, which outlines a plan to grow Alberta's hydrogen sector and "position the province as an international leader in clean hydrogen."

As hydrogen emits zero carbon dioxide when used, it could reduce emissions in a number of sectors, including heating, industrial processes, power generation, and transportation. The roadmap details opportunities to increase the use of hydrogen in these sectors.

"Hydrogen will be front and centre as we move to a clean, affordable energy future. We have the technology, experience and innovation needed to establish Alberta as the world-leading destination to produce clean hydrogen," said Nally.

Nally pointed to announcements made earlier this year from Suncor and ATCO, who are collaborating to design and construct a clean hydrogen project in the Fort Saskatchewan area.

The facility would produce more than 300,000 tonnes of clean hydrogen per year and reduce Alberta's carbon dioxide emissions by more than two million tonnes annually -- the equivalent of taking 450,000 cars off the road every year.

Nally described Friday's announcement as a signal that Alberta is serious about diversifying the energy sector and that the province is a leader in clean energy technology in North America.

The hydrogen roadmap also projects more than $30 billion in new capital investment, tens of thousands of jobs and billions of dollars of economic activity during the construction of new projects, as well as a greenhouse gas emissions reduction of 14 megatonnes per year by 2030.

The full report can be found here.

Information provided by FortSaskOnline