HomeBlogNewsSummary of California Briefing: 100+ Hydrogen Stations and More Webinar

Summary of California Briefing: 100+ Hydrogen Stations and More Webinar

  • September 17, 2020
  • Category a: News

Covered by Michael Giovanniello, CHBC Fellow 

On September 16, the California Fuel Cell Partnership hosted the “California Briefing: 100+ Hydrogen Stations and More” webinar. Panelists Jane Berner (CEC), Andrew Martinez (CARB), and Keith Malone (CaFCP) joined moderator Ben Xiong (CaFCP) to review developments in California’s hydrogen station network. The discussion highlighted CEC’s proposal to award three companies a total of $115.7 million in station funding, CARB’s annual report on hydrogen vehicle adoption and station development, and Go-Biz’s updated Hydrogen Station Permitting Guidebook. 

Announced earlier this month, CEC’s GFO-19-602 Notice of Proposed Awards (NOPA) allocates $115.7 in station development funds to three big winners. FirstElement Fuel will receive the largest share of $52.5 million, including $20.5 million to build a first set of 21 stations. Equilon Enterprises LLC will receive $41 million, including $7.6 million to construct their first eight. Finally, Iwatani Corporation of America will receive $23 million, including $11 million for their first seven. The final terms of each grant are currently under negation; however, FirstElement, Equilon, and Iwatani’s original submissions outlined plans to contribute $98.5 million, $41.5 million, and $61.8 million in matching funds for 49, 51, and 23 stations, respectively. 

Altogether, the announcement allocates $39.1 million in immediately available funds for an initial batch of 36 stations. California is now on the cusp of achieving AB 8’s mandate for 100 stations (constructed, in development, or funded) by 2020. The projects themselves also illustrate advancements in station development. According to Berner, the proposed stations on average have greater capacity, more fueling slots, lower costs, and rely less on public funding per kilogram of capacity than existing ones. 

Refueling infrastructure is a key driver of light-duty FCEV adoption, which the CARB annual report estimates will reach 27,000 by 2023 and 48,900 by 2026. Both FCEV adoption and the station development, Martinez relayed, have been set-back by the Covid-19 recession and 2019 hydrogen shortage. While these events will not significantly impact the long-term trajectory of hydrogen transportation, California must now accelerate its rate of station development in order to meet AB 8’s mandate for 100 operational stations by 2023 and Executive Order B-48’s mandate for 200 by 2025. 

Fortunately, the process is made easier by GO-Biz’s updated Hydrogen Station Permitting Guidebook. The document, which was produced in collaboration with government, business, and academia, provides a comprehensive guide for prospective developers. There will be a webinar reviewing key points on September 22. 

The webinar ended with an audience question on why stations were not announced for certain locations. Berner elaborated on CEC’s selection process, which starts by identifying key areas but not proscribing specific sites. There is hope, she said, that as CEC and GFO-19-602 awardees finalize plans, stations will be announced to service currently neglected areas.