Southern California is in a prime location to launch a self-sustaining green hydrogen economy, and a 52-page white paper published by AltaSea at the Port of Los Angeles demonstrates this. Together with other collaborators, including 7th Generation Advisors, Accenture, Energy Independence Now, and Momentum, AltaSea conducted the study and wrote the white paper.
The majority of the nation’s hydrogen refueling stations, 71% of the nation’s hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs), and many of the nation’s most challenging-to-electrify industries would all benefit from the use of hydrogen-electric technology, according to a new analysis. The research claims these advantages are supported by one of the world’s most robust economies. At $3.36 trillion in 2021, California’s economy accounted for 14.6% of the whole United States’ GDP. If California were a country, it would have the world’s fifth-largest GDP.
According to the report, which can be found at https://www.socalh2.org/vision, “both California as a whole and the Southern California region, in particular, are leading efforts to decarbonize the state’s modern economy while creating new jobs, advancing equity, and tackling some of the state’s most pressing environmental challenges,” such as drought, wildfires, extreme heat, poor air quality, and pollution.
According to AltaSea President & CEO Terry Tamminen, who also designed California’s groundbreaking Hydrogen Highway, “our research emphasizes the many prospects to decarbonize marine transportation and cargo movement, especially at ports, utilizing hydrogen.” Reduced carbon emissions and improved air quality are two benefits of using renewable hydrogen in ships and large vehicles.
AltaSea has collaborated with other groups in Southern California to establish the Southern California Green Hydrogen Cluster as part of this bigger, state-wide initiative. Formed in early 2022, this ad hoc group of stakeholders has been meeting frequently to plan for the expected DOE Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs funding request and how the area may best assist a state application to this program.
According to Tamminen, “we are just touching the surface of how investment in the environmentally and economically viable green hydrogen market might help our world. Based on our findings, it is obvious that a renewable hydrogen hub in California would hasten the transition to a carbon-neutral economy, in addition to generating high-quality new employment opportunities, enhancing environmental quality, and decreasing overall costs.
