Renewable Hydrogen

To achieve California’s economy-wide decarbonization goals, California must explore alter-natives to fossil fuels where electrification is not practical or cost-effective. Renewable hydrogen has the potential to fill specific niches in the transportation, electricity, and industrial sectors, and can help meet California’s growing reliability need as a form of long duration or seasonal storage for renewable energy.

Recent Developments:

CEERT has previously conducted a series of discussions pertaining to hydrogen and its emerging presence in the renewable resource world. Hydrogen, previously thought of as the “Swiss Army knife” energy resource, is now being scrutinized under a more critical lens, with various concerns about leaks within pipelines or transportation, hydrogen blending with natural gas, and other issues.

CEERT has been monitoring the recent changes in attitudes toward hydrogen, and plans to convene another series of hydrogen calls, first internally and then with a broader group. These calls will offer a space for organizations and individuals to raise their concerns and collaborate on ideas for safe, feasible production and application, and for taking our ideas to the Governor’s Office for Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) and the Alliance for Renewable Clean Hydrogen Energy Systems (ARCHES), California’s public-private hydrogen alliance leading the effort to secure federal funding from the DOE’s Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub Program.

V. John White will be attending the World Hydrogen North America conference in Houston in May, and will give a presentation on Decarbonizing Heavy Industry and Incentivizing Change, covering policy changes and fast-tracking for hydrogen, transitional impacts on infrastructure, views on carbon intensity, and other topics.