L I F E S T O RY: Simon Pickup's
obsession to bring clean, renewable
hydrogen fuel to the world dominates
his life. He built his first hydrogen
electrolyzer at age nine for a science-
fair project. Pickup, who grew up
in North Vancouver, dropped out of
high school at 15 to found Youth
Hydrogen, a not-for-profit focused on
hydrogen energy solutions. He now
leads Hydra Energy, the company
he co-founded in 2012 to crack the
problem that's long blocked the wide-
spread adoption of hydrogen fuel.
Few hydrogen vehicles means
low demand for refuelling infra-
structure, and vice versa. Hydra's
"hydrogen-as-a-service" model gives
trucking firms a refuelling station
at their fleets' home bases, plus
engine technology that lets long-haul
vehicles switch between diesel and
hydrogen. Trucking companies pay
nothing for the equipment when
they sign long-term agreements with
Vancouver-based Hydra for hydrogen
fuel at rates 10 to 30 per cent below
diesel, Pickup says. "The best way
to get people to say yes is to ensure
they never have a chance to say no."
Hydra, which buys hydrogen from
companies that generate it as waste,
has lined up a long-term supplier of
12.4 tonnes a day—enough to power
2,000 passenger cars.
T H E B O T T O M L I N E : Hydra has
raised some $2 million in equity fi-
nancing and has grown to 11 from the
founding team of three. In February it
won a B.C. Innovation Council award
that will help contribute $1 million to
R&D. Up next: a deal to convert and
supply more than 50 trucks for a firm
in northern B.C. —D.H.
S I M O N P I C K U P
Co-founder and CEO
HYDRA ENERGY CORP.
A G E : 2 8
40 BCBUSINESS APRIL 2017
