LOS ANGELES, April 21, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Southern
California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) announced today it will
demonstrate a groundbreaking technological combination that will
produce hydrogen from renewable natural gas (RNG) at SunLine
Transit Agency's hydrogen fueling station in Thousand
Palms, California. The research project, called "H2
SilverSTARS," will produce renewable hydrogen to fuel SunLine's
fleet of 17 hydrogen fuel cell electric buses and support further
expansion. The combination of new technologies will make it
possible to provide renewable hydrogen made from RNG at natural gas
fueling stations—or any location near a natural gas pipeline. The
goal is to produce emissions-free renewable hydrogen for fuel cell
electric cars and other vehicles at a price competitive with
gasoline. Photos and video of the SunLine buses and a diagram of
the STARS technology are available here.
Hydrogen-powered fuel cell electric vehicles are expected to
play an important role in meeting California Governor Newsom's executive order
requiring all new cars sold in the state be zero-emissions by 2035.
As demand for these cars increases, Californians will need
thousands more stations where they can fuel up with hydrogen.
The demonstration project will integrate two core technologies.
The first, Linde's HydroPrime HC300 MIN system, will make hydrogen
from renewable natural gas the same way large centralized hydrogen
production plants do—but with compact equipment small enough to fit
in a tractor trailer container. While Linde's system is already
commercially available and being used abroad, its use at SunLine's
fueling station will be the first time it is deployed in
North America. The SunLine
location will be able to produce up to 650 kilograms of hydrogen a
day.
The second technology, STARS-165 SMR, built by the start-up
STARS corporation, takes the Linde system a step further. It
achieves significantly greater efficiencies in producing hydrogen
by using a compact microchannel design and is driven by an
electricity-powered induction heating process, meaning there is no
combustion, which significantly reduces greenhouse gas emissions
compared to traditional hydrogen production. In addition, the
system is produced using 3-D printing, making it well suited for
mass-production and thus drastically less expensive to make and
operate compared to alternatives. Two STARS systems, with a
combined production capacity of up to 330 kilograms of hydrogen a
day, will be installed for this research project.
The 36-month project will initially demonstrate both core
technologies individually and collect performance data to assess
the STARS system's potential to improve its efficiency and
cost. The STARS SMR technology will then be integrated with
the Linde HydroPrime system with the goal of fast-tracking its
commercialization.
"These technologies could drastically change the face of
hydrogen production in California,
creating the opportunity for anyone to fill up their fuel cell
electric car, truck or bus with low- or zero-carbon hydrogen
anywhere there's a natural gas pipeline," said Neil Navin, SoCalGas vice president of clean
energy innovations. "For SoCalGas, this is another step toward
meeting our pledge to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions in
our operations and delivery of energy by 2045."
"Our agency has been a longtime advocate of advancing clean air
and alternative fuel technology. This partnership with SoCalGas
allows us to continue converting our fleet to zero-emissions five
years ahead of state mandates," said Lauren
Skiver, SunLine Transit Agency's CEO/General Manager and
California Hydrogen Business Council chair. "It also helps us
realize our goal of making hydrogen fueling accessible to the
public in order to inspire a cleaner tomorrow."
"I commend SunLine Transit Agency and SoCalGas for continuing to
push the envelope, building on our technological capacity for
renewable hydrogen, and elevating our region's role in driving
these innovations forward," said California Assemblymember Eduardo Garcia (D-Coachella), Ex Officio Member of the
California Air Resources Board. "Each advancement and production
efficiency brings us closer to achieving California's groundbreaking emission
reduction, electric vehicle, and clean air goals."
"The microchannels in this technology make the chemical
reactions far faster and vastly more efficient than traditional
steam methane reformation, and it's also far less expensive to
produce," said Robert Wegeng,
President of STARS Technology Corporation. "And because this
technology uses induction heating—which can be powered by renewable
electricity—the entire process can be zero emissions when renewable
natural gas is used. We look forward to analyzing the results of
this important research alongside SoCalGas and SunLine
Transit."
"Renewable hydrogen is essential to California's effort to reduce pollution and
decarbonize the energy we use throughout the economy, including the
transportation sector," said Bill
Zobel, executive director of the California Hydrogen
Business Council. "This new technology and partnership between
SunLine and SoCalGas will play an important role in ensuring the
state achieves its transportation electrification goals and
advancing zero emissions fuel accessibility to all
Californians."
SunLine Transit Agency is a national leader in providing
environmentally conscious public transportation services. The
agency was a pioneer in adoption of hydrogen as a fuel and has had
a hydrogen infrastructure on-site since 2000 with the first fuel
cell electric bus in operation that same year. Recently the
Agency completed the construction of a 900 kg/day hydrogen
electrolyzer–the largest renewable hydrogen-producing station in
the country for transportation—creating the infrastructure needed
to maintain and grow a fleet of buses that are 100% zero-emissions.
The renewable hydrogen generated as part of this demonstration on
site will be used to fuel their current fleet of 17hydrogen buses
and support further expansion.
About SoCalGas
Headquartered in Los Angeles, SoCalGas® is
the largest gas distribution
utility in the United States. SoCalGas delivers
affordable, reliable, clean and increasingly renewable gas service
to 21.8 million consumers across 24,000 square miles of
Central and Southern California. Gas delivered through the
company's pipelines will continue to play a key role in
California's clean energy
transition—providing electric grid reliability and supporting wind
and solar energy deployment.
SoCalGas' mission is to build the cleanest, safest and most
innovative energy company in America. In support of that mission,
SoCalGas is committed to achieving net-zero greenhouse gas
emissions in its operations and delivery of energy by 2045 and
to replacing 20% of its traditional natural gas supply to core
customers with renewable natural gas (RNG) by 2030. Renewable
natural gas is made from waste created by dairy farms, landfills
and wastewater treatment plants. SoCalGas is also committed to
investing in its gas delivery infrastructure while keeping bills
affordable for customers. Over the past five years, the company
invested nearly $7.5 billion to upgrade and modernize its
pipeline system to enhance safety and reliability. SoCalGas is a
subsidiary of Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE), an energy
services holding company based in San Diego. For more
information visit socalgas.com/newsroom or connect with
SoCalGas
on Twitter (@SoCalGas), Instagram (@SoCalGas)
and Facebook.
About SunLine Transit Agency
SunLine provides public transit services in California's Coachella Valley spanning 1,120
mile-service area and carrying approximately 4.2 million riders. It
has pioneered zero-emission bus deployments, particularly for
hydrogen fuel cell electric buses (FCEB). In 1993, SunLine's Board
adopted a voluntary policy of pursuing alternative fuel solutions
that provide the lowest possible emissions, which led to SunLine
becoming the first transit agency in the state to convert its
entire fleet to compressed natural gas (CNG). SunLine is committed
to transitioning its entire bus fleet to zero-emission by 2035.
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SOURCE Southern California Gas Company