Hydrogen Innovation Fund

The Ontario government is establishing a Hydrogen Innovation Fund that will invest $15 million over the next three years to kickstart and develop opportunities for hydrogen to be integrated into Ontario’s clean electricity system, including hydrogen electricity storage. This launch marks another milestone in the implementation of the province’s Low-Carbon Hydrogen Strategy, positioning Ontario as a clean manufacturing hub.

Hydrogen Innovation Fund projects would support electricity supply, capacity, storage and demand management, and support growth in Ontario’s hydrogen economy. The Fund will support projects across three streams:

• Existing facilities already built or operational and ready to evaluate how hydrogen can support Ontario’s clean grid.
• New hydrogen facilities not yet constructed but could be in-service by a specified date to demonstrate how hydrogen can support Ontario’s clean grid.
• Research studies investigating the feasibility of novel applications of hydrogen or support future hydrogen project decision making.

The Hydrogen Innovation Fund (HIF) enables the IESO and project proponents to test existing and emerging technologies with a view to objectively determine how hydrogen resources can support reliability, affordability and sustainability.

To unlock hydrogen’s potential to drive economic growth, create jobs and support Ontario’s position as a leader in the clean energy economy, on March 31, 2025, the Ontario government announced the launch of the 2025 HIF with broader eligibility requirements, and an expanded budget of $30 million.

Hydrogen Innovation Fund (HIF) 2025 Call Details

On July 31, the Minister of Energy and Mines directed the IESO to launch a $30 million Hydrogen Innovation Fund (HIF) call for applications in 2025 (the 2025 Call) which aims to support innovative hydrogen projects focused on two separate $15 million streams.

1. Projects with direct electricity system benefits including the integration of low-carbon hydrogen into the electricity grid. Eligible projects would include hydrogen storage and generation, peaking generation capacity, supporting services, and long-term or seasonal storage of surplus renewable energy.
2. Projects enabling broader energy and other sector applications including transportation, manufacturing and heavy industry. Eligible projects would include hydrogen production and storage for non-electricity applications, switching existing hydrogen users to low-carbon hydrogen produced in Ontario, creating hydrogen hubs, or the development of new methods to connect hydrogen producers with end-users.

The IESO is aiming to stakeholder the 2025 Call, including eligibility and evaluation criteria, in September 2025 and open the submission window in November 2025. Exact timing is to be confirmed with further details and call documents being released shortly.

Background

In 2023, the Minister of Energy directed the IESO to develop and implement a HIF. Proponents were tasked with investigating how low-carbon hydrogen technologies can be integrated with Ontario's electricity grid for the purposes of balancing and strengthening its reliable electricity system. The fund covered projects that explored hydrogen production from electricity, electricity generation from hydrogen, and transportation and storage of hydrogen as a means of integrating hydrogen and electricity within a broader hydrogen economy.

On March 31, 2025, the Ontario government announced the launch of the 2025 HIF with broader eligibility requirements, and an expanded budget of $30 million.

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