The Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District (Santa Cruz Metro) is celebrating the selection of the Alliance for Renewable Clean Hydrogen Energy Systems (ARCHES), a statewide hydrogen hub initiative in California, as a key recipient of funding from the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs program. The DOE awarded ARCHES $1.2 billion in funding. As part of the ARCHES team, Santa Cruz Metro and the Center for Transportation and the Environment aim to deploy “green” hydrogen-powered, fuel-cell electric buses (FCEBs) in Santa Cruz County.
“Santa Cruz Metro is proud to be a partner of ARCHES and play a role in its success,” said Santa Cruz Metro Board Chair, Shebreh Kalantari-Johnson. “This program will help Santa Cruz County, Calif., and the nation grow the clean energy economy and transition to a zero-emissions transportation sector.”
ARCHES’ intention is to only fund the production and use of “green” hydrogen that has been produced with renewable resources and that meet or exceed federal carbon intensity requirements on a life cycle emission basis. All electrolytic hydrogen projects that receive funding support will have to meet ARCHES criteria. Proposals will be evaluated based on ARCHES vetting criteria and overall GHG, local air quality, state environmental goals and community impacts. ARCHES will use mechanisms that are recognized by state and federal authorities to track the electricity used to produce hydrogen is renewable and to evaluate hub carbon intensity.
The rollout of the Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs marks a significant step toward the Biden Administration’s goal of creating a network of clean hydrogen producers, consumers and infrastructure to deliver hydrogen at a cost of $2/kg by 2026 and $1/kg by 2031. The Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs program, established as part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, aims to accelerate the use of hydrogen in multiple carbon-intensive sectors, including transportation and catalyze a wave of new investments from both public and private sectors.
“Santa Cruz Metro has set an aggressive goal to be 100 percent emissions-free by 2037,” said Santa Cruz Metro Board Vice Chair Kristen Brown. “The selection of ARCHES as a Hydrogen Hub by the DOE may greatly assist in our efforts to meet the state of California’s clean energy mandates ahead of schedule.”
“Hydrogen fuel cell technology will play a key role as transit agencies like Santa Cruz Metro continue to modernize their fleets to meet California’s ambitious climate goals,” said ARCHES CEO Angelina Galiteva. “We look forward to working with Santa Cruz Metro over the next few months, as we finalize projects and set timelines for project implementation with the Department of Energy.”
