Southern California Gas Company and Bloom Energy announced the testing of a portion of Caltech’s grid with a hydrogen. electrolyer.
According to a release, the project showcases how existing infrastructure with electrolyzers and fuel cell technology may be able to create microgrids that and can help safeguard businesses, communities, and campuses from power disruptions.
Bloom Energy’s hydrogen electrolyzers are assembled at its Newark site. The technology is also being tested at various locations, including a nuclear power plant in Minnesota. Hydrogen can be stored and used to generate electricity or power steel mills, cement plants, and other industrial sites that now require heavy use of fossil fuels. Cllck here for previous stories on Bloom’s involvement in the hydrogen world, including its participation in a regional consortium.
“It is becoming clearer with each passing day that hydrogen can and should play a key role in California’s efforts to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels,” said state Senator Bob Archuleta, chair of the Senate Select Committee on Hydrogen Energy. “Moreover, I am excited to see Caltech, one of our nation’s leading institutions, serving as a testbed for the use of hydrogen with this new and innovative technology on their campus.”
The West Coast project takes water from Caltech’s service line and runs it through Bloom Energy’s solid oxide electrolyzer, which uses grid energy to create hydrogen. The hydrogen is injected into Caltech’s natural gas infrastructure upstream of Bloom Energy fuel cells, creating up to a 20% blend of hydrogen and natural gas. This fuel blend is then converted into electricity with Bloom Energy’s fuel cells, which are distributed for use on campus.
SoCalGas is proposing pilot projects to help develop a state hydrogen blending standard. These projects could help better understand how clean fuels like clean renewable hydrogen could be delivered through California’s natural gas system.
