For the projected Valley Link rail project, the Tri-Valley-San Joaquin Valley Regional Rail Authority has established a strategic partnership with Linde Engineering North America to build a green hydrogen fuel generation facility.
In order to separate the hydrogen and oxygen atoms in water, green hydrogen is produced using renewable energy. The 42-mile Valley Link project, as envisioned by the regional rail authority, would be the first in-house production passenger rail system in California to employ green hydrogen. It would connect the North Lathrop Altamont Corridor Express (ACE) station with the Dublin/Pleasanton BART station.
For the manufacturing facility, the Railroad Authority recently purchased 200 acres of excess municipal land from the City of Tracy in San Juaquin County.
A manufacturing facility configuration agreement, an implementation strategy, and a partnership structure are all part of the collaboration with Linde, a global maker and distributor of hydrogen.
Construction is expected to begin on the 26-mile-long Valley Link line in 2025 between the Dublin/Pleasanton BART station and the Mountain House station in San Joaquin County. The rail authority anticipates that the hydrogen fuel generation facility will serve other transport and truck operators before Valley Link is put into service.
The largest industrial gases firm in the world, Linde, with headquarters in Germany, has a subsidiary called Linde Engineering North America.
