On August 30th, California Governor Newsom and US Deputy Secretary of Energy David Crane, along with California Senator Alex Padilla and other federal officials, announced the official launch of the first hydrogen fuel center in the United States.
The hydrogen fuel center, established by hundreds of partners, is funded through a $12.6 billion agreement, including $1.2 billion in federal funding from the US Department of Energy in 2023. The center aims to develop and deploy hydrogen fuel projects with the goal of reducing particulate pollution from diesel and gasoline.
Priority at the hydrogen fuel center will be given to services for heavy-duty trucks, public transportation, and port operations, with an expected annual reduction of about 2 million metric tons of carbon emissions, equivalent to the emissions of 445,000 traditional fuel vehicles per year.
This decarbonization effort primarily targets California’s three major ports in Oakland, Los Angeles, and Long Beach. The center will provide fuel for over 5,000 hydrogen fuel cell electric trucks and over 1,000 hydrogen-powered buses, with hydrogen transport infrastructure including 60 commercial hydrogen stations and 165 miles of pipelines.
The center is expected to create 220,000 new job positions, including 130,000 construction jobs and 90,000 permanent positions.
Senator Padilla noted that the center is a continuation of the commitment made by the California legislature in 2006 under the AB32 legislation, which aims to address climate issues.
Deputy Secretary of Energy Crane acknowledged California’s efforts. However, he also pointed out that the cost of hydrogen fuel is relatively higher than diesel fuel, so tax incentives and other supportive measures will help bolster this new fuel market. ◇