2026 Environment and Sustainability Award Recipient

Dr. Hassan Dehghanpour, professional engineer, is a professor at the University of Alberta whose work in sustainable energy innovation is gaining national and international recognition for Alberta and Canada. He leads Canada’s first integrated program to evaluate, develop, and implement underground hydrogen storage in salt caverns, and has addressed one of the most critical challenges of the clean-energy transition: how to store hydrogen in a safe and responsible manner.

Hydrogen is a low-carbon energy carrier, but its large-scale industrial use requires dependable storage. Unlike natural gas, it behaves differently underground, where it can migrate through rock or wellbores and trigger reactions that alter the surrounding formations over time. Above-ground storage tanks require extensive land and materials, which introduce safety and environmental risks. Dr. Dehghanpour’s work demonstrates that using naturally sealed salt caverns deep underground offers a viable, sustainable alternative.

He led the design of new high-pressure and high-temperature laboratory systems to study how hydrogen behaves in salt rock and surrounding well materials under real underground conditions. These experiments addressed critical gaps in understanding leakage and long-term cavern stability—areas where no Canadian standards previously existed—and translated the results into models and software that enable life-cycle predictions of hydrogen behaviour.

The environmental impact of Dr. Dehghanpour’s work is substantial. Underground hydrogen storage could support the shift from fossil fuels to low-carbon hydrogen, reducing greenhouse-gas emissions and using far less land and material than surface storage. The work has now progressed to field implementation, with trials in Alberta’s Lotsberg Formation and complementary testing in Newfoundland’s Robinson River Salt Project.

The project has also generated economic and social benefits by creating skilled jobs, training future engineers and geoscientists, and supporting collaboration among key stakeholders.

“Alberta has a unique energy and workforce ecosystem that supports innovation and turning ideas into real solutions,” said Dr. Dehghanpour. “Our collaborative work with industry at the University of Alberta on hydrogen storage is a great example of what we can achieve together."

Through rigorous engineering and collaborative leadership, Dr. Dehghanpour exemplifies how environmentally responsible innovation can support Alberta’s energy transition while contributing to Canada’s climate goals.

Notable Achievements and Recognition

• Winner, ASTech Award for Hydrogen Innovation (2024)
• Honourable Mention, Emerging Hydrogen Leader Award, Canadian Hydrogen Convention (2024)
• Winner, Reservoir Description and Dynamics Award, Society of Petroleum Engineers (2024)
• Senior Engineering Research Chair, University of Alberta (2023–2028)
• Winner, Faculty of Engineering Mid-Career Research Award, University of Alberta (2021)
• Member, Board of Examiners, APEGA (2017–2023)
• Member, APEGA (2015–present)
• Distinguished Achievement Award for Petroleum Engineering Faculty, Society of Petroleum Engineers (2015)