In mid-December 2023, Southern California Gas Company and San Jose, California-based Bloom Energy announced the commissioning of a research project that the companies say demonstrates how hydrogen could offer a strong solution for long-duration clean energy storage and dispatchable power generation.
The project, taking place on the campus of Caltech in Pasadena, fuels a portion of the university’s grid by taking water from Caltech’s service line and running it through Bloom Energy’s solid oxide electrolyzer, which uses grid energy to create hydrogen. That hydrogen is then injected into Caltech’s natural gas infrastructure upstream of Bloom Energy fuel cells, creating up to a 20% blend of hydrogen and natural gas. The blended fuel is then converted into electricity with the fuel cells, and the electricity is distributed for use on campus.
According to SoCalGas, the project demonstrates how leveraging existing infrastructure with electrolyzers and fuel cells may be able to create microgrids capable of safeguarding campuses and other communities from power disruptions. It could also help further California’s recent strategic initiatives toward developing a hydrogen economy.
“This collaborative effort represents a significant step in harnessing hydrogen as a resilient, clean energy solution that’s in line with Gov. Gavin 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 business, communities and campuses at scale.”
SoCalGas reports that blending hydrogen into natural gas infrastructure statewide could help drive down hydrogen costs by scaling production. To help facilitate this, the utility is working to help develop a state hydrogen blending standard by proposing pilot projects for approval by the California Public Utilities Commission.
These projects could help to better understand how fuels like renewable hydrogen could be delivered through California’s natural gas system.
Earlier in 2023, SoCalGas unveiled its award-winning [H2] Innovation Experience, a demonstration project designed to showcase the potential resiliency and reliability of a hydrogen microgrid.