The California Air Resources Board (CARB or Board), in collaboration with California Energy Commission (CEC), California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), and California Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz), will hold a public workshop to initiate the development of a comprehensive report on hydrogen as called for in Senate Bill (SB) 1075. The report will include technical and policy evaluations and recommendations regarding the development, deployment, and use of hydrogen for achieving emission reductions that can contribute to achieving the State’s climate, clean energy, and clean air objectives.

This workshop will inform the SB 1075 report. Staff will request written feedback following the workshop through 11:59 pm on September 19, 2023. A link to submit written feedback will be posted to the SB 1075 Meetings & Workshops (//d1f43iyyfeofwy.cloudfront.net/our-work/programs/sb-1075-hydrogen/meetings) webpage.

Purpose of the Workshop

This is the first public workshop in what will be a series to inform the development of the comprehensive report on hydrogen as called for in SB 1075. CARB, in collaboration with CEC, CPUC, and GO-Biz, have assembled speakers to discuss on-going State efforts related to evaluating the role of hydrogen in meeting the State’s energy, climate, and air quality goals.

Background

In 2022, the Legislature passed SB 1075, which mandates that a comprehensive report on hydrogen be posted to CARB’s website by June 1, 2024. This report will cover the deployment, development, and use of hydrogen across all sectors as a key part of achieving the State’s climate, air quality, and energy goals.

Last year, the Board approved the 2022 Scoping Plan Update (https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/our-work/programs/ab-32-climate-change-scoping-plan/2022-scoping-plan-documents), which lays out a cost-effective and technologically feasible path to achieve carbon neutrality by 2045 and reduce anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions by 85% below 1990 levels. Displacing fossil fuel with renewable hydrogen emerged as a key energy transition action in the 2022 Scoping Plan Update. Specifically, renewable hydrogen produced through electrolysis or from biomethane was identified as an alternative to fossil fuels in the transportation, buildings, industry, and electricity sectors.