(Credit: Canva Pro)The state of California is working toward its net-zero emissions target with a new hydrogen energy strategy.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom directed the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) to develop California’s Hydrogen Market Development Strategy. The strategy will resemble the state’s Zero-Emission Vehicle Market Development Strategy, which outlines how state agencies and stakeholders can work together to achieve the zero-emission goals.
According to Newsom, hydrogen provides clean, renewable energy for the state, which is currently competing to become a federally-funded Hydrogen Hub. The program has $8 billion to establish at least four such hubs across the country. The hubs will create networks of hydrogen producers, consumers, and local connective infrastructure to accelerate the use of hydrogen as a clean energy carrier.
“California is all in on clean, renewable hydrogen -- an essential aspect of how we’ll power our future and cut pollution,” Newsom said in a statement. “This strategy will lay out the pathway for building a robust hydrogen market to help us fully embrace this source of clean energy.”
The strategy, as directed by the governor, will focus on leveraging hydrogen to accelerate clean energy deployment and decarbonization of the state’s transportation and industrial sectors. The plan must also consider upcoming reports, as well as previous state initiatives regarding clean energy. Other state agencies, including the California Air Resources Board, the California Energy Commission, and the California Public Utilities Commission, will have their roles in the strategy clearly defined. The agencies may have shared strategies, such as new financing models, permitting modifications, and procurement initiatives.
The plan also builds on Newsom’s previous executive order to create an infrastructure strike team to streamline projects through the state. The Hydrogen Strategy will be one outcome of the Infrastructure Strike Team’s hydrogen, clean energy, transportation, and zero-emission vehicle workgroups, the Governor's office said.
California’s Alliance for Renewable Clean Hydrogen Energy Systems (ARCHES), a public-private partnership focused on the hydrogen ecosystem, submitted the application for federal funding.
The state-wide strategy comes a few years after Lancaster, California, signed an agreement to host and co-own the largest renewable hydrogen project at the time, capable of producing nearly three times more hydrogen than any other facility in the world, existing or planned.
