Mr. Chair, the production of hydrogen is something that's been part of our industrial mix for a long time. We have been producing hydrogen in a variety of different ways through different technologies. What has changed recently is the degree of demand as some of the new technologies have come on board to create hydrogen both through electrolysis, which is through the conversion of water into hydrogen, and through the reform of natural gas, which essentially uses very high heat to separate out the hydrogen from the carbon in methane. Those two processes, combined with carbon capture and storage, can lead to quite substantial supplies of very low-carbon fuel, which can be applied in a number of different ways.
Canada has been a leader with respect to the development of such technologies as hydrogen cells, which can convert that hydrogen into electricity and can be used as a source of power in automobiles, in heavy- and medium-weight vehicles and in other applications, such as steel production.
The application of that hydrogen technology is being advanced through a variety of different means around the world. There is an increasing demand for hydrogen as a clean fuel that we are seeing in a number of different ways. I mentioned in my opening statement the arrangement that we have reached with Germany. We have also been in conversations with other key partners, such as Korea, Japan and the United States, about the application of hydrogen as a clean fuel.
I would say, as I also mentioned in my opening statement, that this is something relevant across the country. As we think about the regional tables, and as we are trying to study and identify with each province and territory areas where we have a strategic advantage that we can use to move toward a cleaner carbon future, hydrogen—