Leadership

Colin Armstrong

Colin Armstrong

President & CEO

Colin is a professional mechanical engineer with more than 35 years of experience in the hydrogen sector.

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Steven Piepgrass, P.Eng, MBA

Steven Piepgrass, P.Eng, MBA

Chief Operating Officer

Steven is a chemical engineer with over 20 years of experience across the energy sector, including natural gas utilities, gas midstream, and renewable energy.

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Patric Ouellette, Ph.d, P.eng

Patric Ouellette, Ph.d, P.eng

VP Stations and Distribution

Patric is a clean technology executive and a mechanical engineer with over 25 years of experience in the development of fuel systems for alternative fuels.

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Sabina Russell, P.Eng

Sabina Russell, P.Eng

VP Clean Fuels

Sabina is a professional mechanical engineer with 25 years of experience in the hydrogen sector.

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Gerhard Schmidt, P.eng, Cp.eng, Pmp

Gerhard Schmidt, P.eng, Cp.eng, Pmp

VP Engineering

Gerhard has more than 25 years of experience in the mechanical and process design of gas, water, and thermal systems in Canada, Australia, the United States, and Europe.

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Jeff Grant

Jeff Grant

VP Transportation Solutions

Jeff Grant has over 25 years of experience in business and project development and government relations in the hydrogen sector.

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Kurt Loewen, CPA, MSc

Kurt Loewen, CPA, MSc

Chief Financial Officer

Kurt Loewen is HTEC’s CFO; he has over 13 years of experience as a CFO of high-growth public companies in the forestry and mineral exploration sectors.

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Directors

Colin Armstrong

President/CEO HTEC & CENCO Innovations

Jesse Krynak

Managing Director
I Squared Capital

Peter Bradshaw

Corporate Director

Mark Kirby

Senior Advisor, CHFCA

Brad Babineaux

Corporate Director, & Senior Vice President Executive Operations, Chart Industries.

Ivan Ponieman

Principal
I Squared Capital

Rick Hopp

Corporate Director

Rick Hopp

Corporate Director

Colin Armstrong

President & CEO

​Colin is a professional mechanical engineer with more than 35 years of experience in the hydrogen sector and clean technology company growth. He is a co-founder of HTEC and has led the company since 2011. Colin is the driving force behind British Columbia’s hydrogen station network.

Prior to HTEC, Colin led hydrogen initiatives at Ballard, Sacré-Davey Engineering, and Dynetek. Colin was a member of the Canadian Hydrogen Association board of directors from 2011 to 2022 and has been a director of Hydrogen BC since 2020.

Colin has been recognized for the contributions he has made to the hydrogen sector. He received the Canadian Hydrogen Convention 2024 Hydrogen Leader of the Year Award and is a 2022 Clean50 Honoree.

Colin Armstrong

President & CEO

​Colin is a professional mechanical engineer with more than 35 years of experience in the hydrogen sector and clean technology company growth. He is a co-founder of HTEC and has led the company since 2011. Colin is the driving force behind British Columbia’s hydrogen station network.

Prior to HTEC, Colin led hydrogen initiatives at Ballard, Sacré-Davey Engineering, and Dynetek. Colin was a member of the Canadian Hydrogen Association board of directors from 2011 to 2022 and has been a director of Hydrogen BC since 2020.

Colin has been recognized for the contributions he has made to the hydrogen sector. He received the Canadian Hydrogen Convention 2024 Hydrogen Leader of the Year Award and is a 2022 Clean50 Honoree.

Sabina Russell, P.Eng

VP, Clean Fuels

Sabina is a professional mechanical engineer with 25 years’ experience in the hydrogen sector. She is responsible for HTEC’s Clean Fuels department, involving production and liquefaction asset development, partnerships, and plant operations.

Prior to joining HTEC, Sabina was Principal & co-founder at Zen Clean Energy Solutions for seven years. She led Zen’s project management department, with a focus on consortium-based projects deploying clean and zero-emission technologies. She also led Zen’s hydrogen strategy work, including the Hydrogen Strategy for Canada on behalf of the Government of Canada, as well as a Maritimes Hydrogen Study for OERA and the BC Hydrogen Study. Sabina worked with Ballard Power Systems for over 18 years, where she held a range of technical and commercial roles. She ended her tenure at Ballard as Director of Product Engineering, leading a team of 95 engineers and scientists to develop fuel cell stack and system products, as well as provide engineering services to customers including automotive OEMs. Sabina is also the Chair of the Canadian Hydrogen Fuel Cell Association (CHFCA).

Sabina was featured in the "Women Leading Cleantech" 2022 by Foresight Canada and was a 2021 Clean50 Honouree.

Patric Ouellette, Ph.d, P.eng

VP Stations and Distribution

Patric is a clean technology company executive and a professional mechanical engineer with over 25 years of experience in developing fuel systems for alternative fuels. He is responsible for developing and operating HTEC’s hydrogen distribution and fueling assets. 

Prior to joining HTEC, Patric was a founder of Westport Innovations and part of the leadership team that grew it from a university spin-off to a global industry leader in alternative fuel systems. As Westport’s CTO, Patric led technology and product development of gaseous fuel systems for a range of applications, including natural gas and hydrogen blends in transit buses. In partnership with European and North American engine manufacturers and transit agencies, he led the investigation of high-pressure hydrogen injection into a variety of engine types.  

After leaving Westport, Patric worked as a consultant for several clean technology organizations. He contributed to the characterization and modelling of clean technology options for heavy-duty vehicles, and sectoral emissions reduction strategies. Patric also established market positioning for a new renewable fuel production method and provided technological leadership for a start-up involved in an innovative refrigerated transport system. 

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Patric Ouellette, Ph.d, P.eng

VP Stations and Distribution

Patric is a clean technology company executive and a professional mechanical engineer with over 25 years of experience in developing fuel systems for alternative fuels. He is responsible for developing and operating HTEC’s hydrogen distribution and fueling assets. 

Prior to joining HTEC, Patric was a founder of Westport Innovations and part of the leadership team that grew it from a university spin-off to a global industry leader in alternative fuel systems. As Westport’s CTO, Patric led technology and product development of gaseous fuel systems for a range of applications, including natural gas and hydrogen blends in transit buses. In partnership with European and North American engine manufacturers and transit agencies, he led the investigation of high-pressure hydrogen injection into a variety of engine types.  

After leaving Westport, Patric worked as a consultant for several clean technology organizations. He contributed to the characterization and modelling of clean technology options for heavy-duty vehicles, and sectoral emissions reduction strategies. Patric also established market positioning for a new renewable fuel production method and provided technological leadership for a start-up involved in an innovative refrigerated transport system. 

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Sabina Russell, P.Eng

VP, Clean Fuels

Sabina is a professional mechanical engineer with 25 years’ experience in the hydrogen sector. She is responsible for HTEC’s Clean Fuels department, involving production and liquefaction asset development, partnerships, and plant operations.

Prior to joining HTEC, Sabina was Principal & co-founder at Zen Clean Energy Solutions for seven years. She led Zen’s project management department, with a focus on consortium-based projects deploying clean and zero-emission technologies. She also led Zen’s hydrogen strategy work, including the Hydrogen Strategy for Canada on behalf of the Government of Canada, as well as a Maritimes Hydrogen Study for OERA and the BC Hydrogen Study. Sabina worked with Ballard Power Systems for over 18 years, where she held a range of technical and commercial roles. She ended her tenure at Ballard as Director of Product Engineering, leading a team of 95 engineers and scientists to develop fuel cell stack and system products, as well as provide engineering services to customers including automotive OEMs. Sabina is also the Chair of the Canadian Hydrogen Fuel Cell Association (CHFCA).

Sabina was featured in the "Women Leading Cleantech" 2022 by Foresight Canada and was a 2021 Clean50 Honouree.

Sabina Russell, P.Eng

VP, Clean Fuels

Sabina is a professional mechanical engineer with 25 years’ experience in the hydrogen sector. She is responsible for HTEC’s Clean Fuels department, involving production and liquefaction asset development, partnerships, and plant operations.

Prior to joining HTEC, Sabina was Principal & co-founder at Zen Clean Energy Solutions for seven years. She led Zen’s project management department, with a focus on consortium-based projects deploying clean and zero-emission technologies. She also led Zen’s hydrogen strategy work, including the Hydrogen Strategy for Canada on behalf of the Government of Canada, as well as a Maritimes Hydrogen Study for OERA and the BC Hydrogen Study. Sabina worked with Ballard Power Systems for over 18 years, where she held a range of technical and commercial roles. She ended her tenure at Ballard as Director of Product Engineering, leading a team of 95 engineers and scientists to develop fuel cell stack and system products, as well as provide engineering services to customers including automotive OEMs. Sabina is also the Chair of the Canadian Hydrogen Fuel Cell Association (CHFCA).

Sabina was featured in the "Women Leading Cleantech" 2022 by Foresight Canada and was a 2021 Clean50 Honouree.

Gerhard Schmidt, P.eng, Cp.eng, Pmp

VP, Engineering

Gerhard has more than 20 years' experience in the mechanical and process design of gas, water, and thermal systems in Canada, Australia, the United States, and Europe.

He spent over seven years in the hydrogen fuel cell transportation sector working with Daimler Benz on engine development for buses and the battery replacement market for industrial forklifts. He has spent the last six years developing hydrogen infrastructure for various end use applications. Prior to this, Gerhard started and ran a successful consulting firm/partnership in Australia for eight years. He managed a clients' $80-100M-per-year capital projects portfolio, improving the portfolio’s on-budget delivery, streamlined project development and approval processes, and was a member of numerous large project development teams ($100M-$1B project spend), providing engineering design for gas extraction plants, water pumping stations, and underground-mine services.

Gerhard Schmidt, P.eng, Cp.eng, Pmp

VP, Engineering

Gerhard has more than 20 years' experience in the mechanical and process design of gas, water, and thermal systems in Canada, Australia, the United States, and Europe.

He spent over seven years in the hydrogen fuel cell transportation sector working with Daimler Benz on engine development for buses and the battery replacement market for industrial forklifts. He has spent the last six years developing hydrogen infrastructure for various end use applications. Prior to this, Gerhard started and ran a successful consulting firm/partnership in Australia for eight years. He managed a clients' $80-100M-per-year capital projects portfolio, improving the portfolio’s on-budget delivery, streamlined project development and approval processes, and was a member of numerous large project development teams ($100M-$1B project spend), providing engineering design for gas extraction plants, water pumping stations, and underground-mine services.

Jeff Grant

VP, Transportation Solutions

Jeff Grant has over 22 years' experience in business and project development and government relations in the hydrogen sector. At HTEC, Jeff is responsible for the Transportation Solutions department, involving fleet transition planning, transportation project development and execution, and vehicle leasing for heavy-duty fleet partners.  

With a passion for electrification of the transportation industry, Jeff has been instrumental in developing hydrogen and fuel cell equipment deployments in early markets. Prior to joining HTEC, Jeff was the Principal and co-founder of Zen Clean Energy Solutions. He led Zen’s project development and fleet transition verticals with a focus on creating and refining ideas, finding, and securing non-dilutive funding, identifying partnerships, and delivering contracts. He led multiple project development files for Zen, including key partnerships for HTEC’s early-stage light-duty fueling network in BC. At Ballard Power Systems, Jeff spent 15 years in several key business development roles, including the commercial lead for the North American bus market. Jeff recently served as the Vice Chair of Hydrogen BC.

Jeff Grant

VP, Transportation Solutions

Jeff Grant has over 22 years' experience in business and project development and government relations in the hydrogen sector. At HTEC, Jeff is responsible for the Transportation Solutions department, involving fleet transition planning, transportation project development and execution, and vehicle leasing for heavy-duty fleet partners.  

With a passion for electrification of the transportation industry, Jeff has been instrumental in developing hydrogen and fuel cell equipment deployments in early markets. Prior to joining HTEC, Jeff was the Principal and co-founder of Zen Clean Energy Solutions. He led Zen’s project development and fleet transition verticals with a focus on creating and refining ideas, finding, and securing non-dilutive funding, identifying partnerships, and delivering contracts. He led multiple project development files for Zen, including key partnerships for HTEC’s early-stage light-duty fueling network in BC. At Ballard Power Systems, Jeff spent 15 years in several key business development roles, including the commercial lead for the North American bus market. Jeff recently served as the Vice Chair of Hydrogen BC.

Kurt Loewen, Cpa, Msc

Chief Financial Officer

Kurt Loewen is HTEC’s CFO; he has over 13 years of experience as a CFO of high-growth public companies in the forestry and mineral exploration sectors.

Kurt was a key member of the HTEC team that successfully closed a $217 million investment from Chart Industries, Inc. and I Squared Capital.

Prior to his current role, Kurt was HTEC’s director of project finance. In that capacity, Kurt provided support for business development submissions for funding programs and project analysis, and reporting to multiple federal and provincial agencies. He also manages HTEC’s low carbon fuel credits.

Kurt Loewen, Cpa, Msc

Chief Financial Officer

Kurt Loewen is HTEC’s CFO; he has over 13 years of experience as a CFO of high-growth public companies in the forestry and mineral exploration sectors.

Kurt was a key member of the HTEC team that successfully closed a $217 million investment from Chart Industries, Inc. and I Squared Capital.

Prior to his current role, Kurt was HTEC’s director of project finance. In that capacity, Kurt provided support for business development submissions for funding programs and project analysis, and reporting to multiple federal and provincial agencies. He also manages HTEC’s low carbon fuel credits.