Photo Caption: State, City and Port of Long Bach officials gather to announce the formation of the ARCHES partnership to develop the use of green hydrogen fuel in California.

Source: Port of Long Beach

Public-Private alliance ARCHES to establish statewide Hydrogen Hub

To advance its zero-emissions goals, the Port of Long Beach has joined the Alliance for Renewable Clean Hydrogen Energy Systems (ARCHES), a public-private partnership formed to help capture newly available federal funding to assist in developing a robust renewable hydrogen market in California.

The partnership was celebrated Thursday during a launch event at the Port Administration Building attended by officials from the Port, City of Long Beach, the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development, the University of California Office of the President, labor organizations, Renewables 100, and state and local officials.

ARCHES will serve as the lead applicant for California’s bid to win funding for a hydrogen hub under the U.S. Department of Energy’s Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs (H2Hubs) program. Funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the H2Hubs program will be one of the largest investments in the history of the Department of Energy.

“Hydrogen power represents a tremendous opportunity — both for our state and for cities like Long Beach. We’re looking forward to California leading the way through investment in sustainable technology,” said Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia.

“ARCHES represents an incredible opportunity for the City and Port of Long Beach to advance local and regional clean hydrogen hub development goals and ensure we are making investments in clean hydrogen technologies in the future,” said Long Beach Councilwoman Cindy Allen. “Green hydrogen is a powerful tool, and it can potentially be used to decarbonize the heaviest industries and energy uses, like shipping, aviation, and heavy duty trucks. It will also address the concerns and needs of communities who have sustained the disproportionate burden of environmental impacts. As Chair of the Long Beach City Council Climate Action and Environmental Committee, I will always advocate for policies and initiatives that further our green energy goals, and ARCHES is an example of one of these programs.”

“For almost 20 years, the Port of Long Beach has been a leader in sustainable seaport operations,” said Long Beach Harbor Commission President Sharon L. Weissman. “Partnerships like this have been a key to our success. Green hydrogen is an important fuel for the future of the shipping industry, and as we strive forward on the Port’s goals of zero-emissions cargo-handling by 2030 and trucks by 2035.”

“Establishment of a hydrogen hub in California would support achieving our zero emission goals,” said Port of Long Beach Executive Director Mario Cordero. “With $8 billion in federal funding available, we want to ensure we have as much leverage as possible to see that our fair share comes to California, and specifically to the ports. This is a step toward this and accelerating the nation’s clean energy transition.”

The Port of Long Beach is known internationally as an industry leader in advancing cleaner cargo movement. As a signal of that progress, last month, the Port announced that a trucking company partner will convert to fully-zero emissions by 2025 – 10 years before the 2035 goal. Read more about the project here.

In order to tackle greenhouse gases and criteria pollutants, the Port of Long Beach has set a goal of all zero-emissions cargo-handling equipment by 2030 and a zero-emissions drayage truck fleet by 2035. Today, about 17% of the cargo-handling equipment at the Port is electric powered, the largest such fleet in the United States. The Port has also committed $150 million to support zero and near-zero emissions demonstration projects inside the port and on Southern California roads. To date, $70 million in grant funding has been secured to help support these projects. To learn more about the Port’s quest to reach zero emissions, visit www.polb.com/zeroemissions.

On Wednesday, the Port and the City of Long Beach joined with communities across the state to celebrate the fifth annual California Clean Air Day, and to pledge to continue to improve air quality. View the event here.