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Governor Kathy Hochul today announced Maine and Rhode Island have signed on to a New York-led multi-state agreement, joining with Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Jersey to develop a proposal to become one of at least four regional clean hydrogen hubs designated through the federal Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs program included in the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The coalition of six states and now more than 60 clean hydrogen ecosystem partners are laying the groundwork for a proposal for the United States Department of Energy funding opportunity anticipated to be announced in September or October with up to $8 billion in total funding available. Today's announcement advances each State's leadership in clean hydrogen infrastructure deployment and supports New York's Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 85 percent by 2050.

While significant emphasis has been placed on electric vehicle battery technology and related charging infrastructure across the state, the California clean transportation future needs to include hydrogen fuel cell vehicle technology where it makes sense.

Several transit agencies across the state are already producing their own hydrogen fuel, and others are actively planning to significantly expand on this model. Mega-regional passenger rail systems, such as Valley Link, are preparing for this opportunity by securing 200 acres of environmentally approved parcels to build a green hydrogen facility to provide clean power to commercial trucks, transit buses and a 42-mile passenger rail system that will alleviate the congestion and poor air quality caused by the 100,000 commuters who traverse the Altamont Pass daily. As the state looks to invest new funding to support the development of hydrogen fuel production, it’s imperative that this investment support California’s clean transportation future through transit agency hydrogen producers. This model of sustainability and self-sufficiency is important, as it inherently connects the hydrogen fuel producer and user with the goal of reducing the cost of transit operations to the public and offsets state and federal subsidies.

The demonstration will test STARS' technology, which was developed at the Pacific Northwest National Lab. The technology uses a combustion free process, so that it produces fewer greenhouse gas emissions compared to a conventional steam methane reforming process. Since the compact system is based on low-cost 12x1-inch, 3D-printed reactor disks and heat exchangers, it can be easily installed at fueling stations to help meet the demand while advancing climate and clean air goals. After its installation, the first STARS system will produce up to 80 kilograms of clean hydrogen a day, that's enough to fuel three of SunLine's zero-emission buses per day.

In a study, Porsche Engineering has examined the potential of hydrogen combustion engines. The result is a high-performance powertrain with emissions at the same level as ambient air.

The IRA also includes other incentives to support the scale-up of hydrogen, including:

Extension of the Section 48 Investment Tax Credit for fuel cells and adding hydrogen storage to the credit.
Reinstatement of the Alternative Fuel Refueling Property Credit for ten years and raising the cap for hydrogen fueling stations to $100,000.
Creation of a new Clean Vehicle Credit that provides $7,500 in credits for new purchases and up to $4,000 for used clean vehicles (hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles qualify).
Creation of a new Commercial Clean Vehicle Credit that provides up to $40,000 for fleet operators to apply to fuel cell electric trucks and buses.

"We see that hydrogen fuel cell technology is particularly relevant for larger SUVs," Nota said.

"We do believe in the importance of various technologies -- battery electric vehicles, also hydrogen and efficient combustion engines -- because we don't want to put all our investment in one area," he said.