SoCalGas and Bloom Energy Powering Caltech with Innovative Campus Hydrogen Project

Rhea-AI Summary

Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas) and Bloom Energy (NYSE: BE) have announced the powering of a portion of Caltech's grid with an innovative hydrogen project. This demonstrates the potential to displace traditional natural gas with hydrogen, providing long-duration clean energy storage and dispatchable power generation. The project showcases how leveraging existing infrastructure with electrolyzers and fuel cell technology may create resilient microgrids, safeguarding businesses, communities, and campuses from power disruptions. If developed at scale, this technology may help further California Governor Gavin Newsom's strategic initiatives to develop a hydrogen economy.

Positive

• Innovative project demonstrating potential to displace traditional natural gas
• Leveraging existing infrastructure for resilient microgrids
• Supporting California's strategic initiatives for a hydrogen economy

Negative

• Need for developing a hydrogen injection standard
• Potential challenges in scaling hydrogen production
• Uncertainty around long-term financial viability

The project demonstrates the potential to displace traditional natural gas with fuels like hydrogen, which can be made from clean renewable sources, and foster the many environmental and economic benefits of a hydrogen economy

PASADENA, Calif., Dec. 14, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas) and Bloom Energy  (NYSE: BE), today announced the powering of a portion of Caltech's grid with an innovative hydrogen project that demonstrates how hydrogen could potentially offer a strong solution for long-duration clean energy storage and dispatchable power generation.

The project showcases how leveraging existing infrastructure with electrolyzers and fuel cell technology may be able to create microgrids that deliver resilient power and can help to safeguard businesses, communities, and campuses from power disruptions. If developed at scale, this technology may help further California Governor Gavin Newsom's recent strategic initiatives to develop a hydrogen economy.

"It is becoming clearer with each passing day that hydrogen can and should play a key role in California's efforts to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels," said Senator Bob Archuleta, Chair of the Senate Select Committee on Hydrogen Energy. "Moreover, I am excited to see Caltech, one of our nation's leading institutions, serving as a testbed for the use of hydrogen with this new and innovative technology on their campus."

"This collaborative effort represents a significant step in harnessing hydrogen as a resilient, clean energy solution that's in line with Governor Newsom's vision for California," said Maryam Brown, President at SoCalGas. "Integrating cutting-edge electrolyzers and fuel cell technology into existing infrastructure demonstrates the potential for building robust microgrids, enhancing power resiliency for businesses, communities and campuses at scale."

"We commend Governor Newsom and SoCalGas for their vision and leadership on the important work to develop the hydrogen economy," said Greg Cameron, President and Chief Financial Officer at Bloom Energy. "As a California manufacturer of Bloom Electrolyzers®, we are uniquely positioned to advance the goals of delivering clean and reliable energy in a post-carbon economy. We are working on a number of major opportunities to deliver our electrolyzers to customers to help grow hydrogen as a significant energy source in the U.S. and internationally."

This project takes water from Caltech's service line and runs it through Bloom Energy's solid oxide electrolyzer, which uses grid energy to create hydrogen. The resulting hydrogen is injected into Caltech's natural gas infrastructure upstream of Bloom Energy fuel cells, creating up to a 20% blend of hydrogen and natural gas. All of this fuel blend is then converted into electricity with Bloom Energy's fuel cells, and the electricity is then distributed for use on campus.

Blending hydrogen into natural gas infrastructure statewide – which could help reduce dependence on fossil fuels and ultimately drive down hydrogen costs by scaling production – first requires developing a hydrogen injection standard. The global hydrogen economy is projected to potentially produce as much as 80 gigatons of carbon abatement by 2050, which represents approximately 11% of required cumulative emissions reductions.¹

SoCalGas is working to help develop a state hydrogen blending standard by proposing pilot projects for approval by the CPUC. These projects could help to better understand how clean fuels like clean renewable hydrogen could be delivered through California's natural gas system.

Just this year, SoCalGas unveiled its award winning H2 Innovation Experience, a state-of-the-art demonstration project designed to show the potential resiliency and reliability of a hydrogen microgrid.

When coupled with renewable energy, clean hydrogen could help facilitate a scalable, resilient and decarbonized energy system. SoCalGas is working to help shape California's 21st century energy system through investments in hydrogen, renewable natural gas, fuel cells and carbon management.

For more information about SoCalGas' hydrogen innovation, visit http://socalgas.com/hydrogen

About SoCalGas

Headquartered in Los Angeles, SoCalGas^® is the largest gas distribution utility in the United States. SoCalGas delivers affordable, reliable, and increasingly renewable gas service to over 21 million consumers across 24,000 square miles of Central and Southern California. We believe 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 infrastructure company in America. In support of that mission, SoCalGas aspires to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions in its operations and delivery of energy by 2045 and to replacing 20 percent 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 landfills and wastewater treatment plants. SoCalGas is also committed to investing in its gas delivery infrastructure while keeping bills affordable for customers. SoCalGas is a subsidiary of Sempra (NYSE: SRE), an energy infrastructure company based in San Diego. 

For more information visit socalgas.com/newsroom or connect with SoCalGas on Twitter (@SoCalGas), Instagram (@SoCalGas) and Facebook.  

About Bloom Energy

Bloom Energy empowers businesses and communities to responsibly take charge of their energy. The company's leading solid oxide platform for distributed generation of electricity and hydrogen is changing the future of energy. Fortune 100 companies around the world turn to Bloom Energy as a trusted partner to deliver lower carbon energy today and a net-zero future. For more information, visit www.bloomenergy.com [bloomenergy.com].

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are based on assumptions about the future, involve risks and uncertainties, and are not guarantees. Future results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statement. These forward-looking statements represent our estimates and assumptions only as of the date of this press release. We assume no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. 

In this press release, forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as "believe," "expect," "intend," "anticipate," "contemplate," "plan," "estimate," "project," "forecast," "should," "could," "would," "will," "confident," "may," "can," "potential," "possible," "proposed," "in process," "construct," "develop," "opportunity," "initiative," "target," "outlook," "optimistic," "poised," "maintain," "continue," "progress," "advance," "goal," "aim," "commit," or similar expressions, or when we discuss our guidance, priorities, strategy, goals, vision, mission, opportunities, projections, intentions or expectations. 

Factors, among others, that could cause actual results and events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statement include: decisions, investigations, inquiries, regulations, denials or revocations of permits, consents, approvals or other authorizations, renewals of franchises, and other actions by the (i) California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Internal Revenue Service and other governmental and regulatory bodies and (ii) U.S. and states, counties, cities and other jurisdictions therein where we do business; the success of business development efforts and construction projects, including risks in (i) completing construction projects or other transactions on schedule and budget, (ii) realizing anticipated benefits from any of these efforts if completed, and (iii) obtaining third-party consents and approvals; macroeconomic trends or other factors that could change our capital expenditure plans and their potential impact on rate base or other growth; litigation, arbitrations and other proceedings, and changes to laws and regulations, including those related to tax and trade policy; cybersecurity threats, including by state and state-sponsored actors, of ransomware or other attacks on our systems or the systems of third parties with which we conduct business, including the energy grid or other energy infrastructure, all of which continue to become more pronounced; the availability, uses, sufficiency, and cost of capital resources and our ability to borrow money on favorable terms and meet our obligations, including due to (i) actions by credit rating agencies to downgrade our credit ratings or place those ratings on negative outlook, (ii) instability in the capital markets, or (iii) rising interest rates and inflation; failure of our counterparties to honor their contracts and commitments; the impact on affordability of our customer rates and our cost of capital and on our ability to pass through higher costs to customers due to (i) volatility in inflation, interest rates and commodity prices and (ii) the cost of the clean energy transition in California; the impact of climate and sustainability policies, laws, rules, regulations, disclosures and trends, including actions to reduce or eliminate reliance on natural gas, increased uncertainty in the political or regulatory environment for California natural gas distribution companies, the risk of nonrecovery for stranded assets, and our ability to incorporate new technologies; weather, natural disasters, pandemics, accidents, equipment failures, explosions, terrorism, information system outages or other events that disrupt our operations, damage our facilities or systems, cause the release of harmful materials or fires or subject us to liability for damages, fines and penalties, some of which may not be recoverable through regulatory mechanisms or insurance or may impact our ability to obtain satisfactory levels of affordable insurance; the availability of natural gas and natural gas storage capacity, including disruptions caused by failures in the pipeline system or limitations on the withdrawal of natural gas from storage facilities; and other uncertainties, some of which are difficult to predict and beyond our control. 

These risks and uncertainties are further discussed in the reports that the company has filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). These reports are available through the EDGAR system free-of-charge on the SEC's website, www.sec.gov, and on Sempra's website, www.sempra.com. Investors should not rely unduly on any forward-looking statements. 

Sempra Infrastructure, Sempra Infrastructure Partners, Sempra Texas, Sempra Texas Utilities, Oncor Electric Delivery Company LLC (Oncor) and Infraestructura Energética Nova, S.A.P.I. de C.V. (IEnova) are not the same companies as the California utilities, San Diego Gas & Electric Company or Southern California Gas Company, and Sempra Infrastructure, Sempra Infrastructure Partners, Sempra Texas, Sempra Mexico, Sempra Texas Utilities, Oncor and IEnova are not regulated by the CPUC. 

¹ https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/sustainability/our-insights/five-charts-on-hydrogens-role-in-a-net-zero-future

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SOURCE Southern California Gas Company

FAQ

What is the innovative hydrogen project announced by SoCalGas and Bloom Energy?

The innovative hydrogen project aims to power a portion of Caltech's grid, demonstrating the potential to displace traditional natural gas with hydrogen.

What are the environmental and economic benefits of the hydrogen project?

The project aims to provide long-duration clean energy storage and dispatchable power generation, showcasing the potential of hydrogen for resilient microgrids.

How does the project align with California Governor Gavin Newsom's strategic initiatives?

The project aligns with the Governor's vision to develop a hydrogen economy, supporting the state's efforts to reduce reliance on fossil fuels.

What are the challenges in scaling hydrogen production?

Scaling hydrogen production may pose potential challenges, including the need for developing a hydrogen injection standard and uncertainties around long-term financial viability.

How does SoCalGas plan to contribute to California's hydrogen economy?

SoCalGas aims to develop a state hydrogen blending standard and invest in hydrogen, renewable natural gas, fuel cells, and carbon management to shape California's 21st-century energy system.