The Alliance for Renewable Clean Hydrogen Energy Systems and the United States Department of Energy officially announced the signing of a landmark $12.6 billion agreement to build and expand clean energy infrastructure across California. This agreement includes up to $1.2 billion from the DOE and $11.4 billion in public and private matching funds.
This transformative investment, aimed at reducing California’s reliance on fossil fuels, marked a significant step in the state’s efforts to achieve a carbon-neutral economy by 2045. This announcement followed California’s selection last October as one of seven awardees of the DOE’s Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs initiative, which aims to catalyse a national network of clean hydrogen producers, consumers, and connective infrastructure. ARCHES was the first of the seven H2Hubs to officially sign their agreement with the DOE.
Senator Alex Padilla expressed pride in securing $1.2 billion of federal investments through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to build a hydrogen hub in California. He highlighted the crucial role of ARCHES in achieving California’s clean energy goals and the significance of this initial funding round. California’s leadership in signing the first hydrogen hub cooperative agreement was seen as a pivotal move towards decarbonising goods movement, the energy sector, and heavy industry.
The overall investment, starting with $30 million for the first tranche of funding, was projected to create over 220,000 well-paying jobs. At full build-out, ARCHES DOE projects were expected to result in $2.95 billion per year in decreased healthcare costs due to improved air quality, particularly along transportation corridors.
Angelina Galiteva, CEO of ARCHES, hailed the DOE’s funding announcement as a monumental step forward in achieving the state’s air quality, climate, and energy goals. She emphasised the positive impact on the health and wellbeing of Californians and the creation of new green jobs across the state. She expressed gratitude to the DOE for its commitment to building a sustainable hydrogen ecosystem and looked forward to collaborating with project partners, stakeholders, and diverse communities throughout the state.
California’s bold climate policies, spearheaded by Governor Newsom, including the California Climate Crisis Act (AB 1279), the 2022 Scoping Plan for Achieving Carbon Neutrality, the Executive Order on Zero-Emission Vehicles, and the forthcoming Hydrogen Market Development Strategy, all underscored the critical role of hydrogen in decarbonising the state’s economy. Each selected ARCHES project aimed to improve air quality and public health in many underserved communities throughout California.
ARCHES projects would span statewide, covering the full hydrogen lifecycle from production to use. This includes renewable hydrogen production at over ten sites, replacing diesel-powered cargo-handling equipment at the Ports of Long Beach, Los Angeles, and Oakland with hydrogen fuel cell equivalents, and building over 60 hydrogen fueling stations to support more than 5,000 Class 6-8 fuel cell electric trucks and over 1,000 fuel cell electric buses. Additionally, power plants managed by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power and Northern California Power Agency would transition to 100% renewable hydrogen, and distributed fuel cells would support grid operations across the state.
A notable project involved a first-of-its-kind hydrogen-powered marine research vessel, which would significantly reduce CO2 emissions and demonstrate a sustainable path forward for smaller water and harbor crafts.
In the coming weeks, ARCHES planned to announce additional projects and partners who would receive Hub funding. In collaboration with communities, stakeholders, and policymakers, ARCHES remained committed to ensuring an equitable transition to renewable hydrogen. The selected projects focused on delivering direct benefits to communities with the highest pollution burdens, with robust community engagement and innovative systems to ensure the program delivered on its promises.
For more information visit www.archesh2.org
