Port of Oakland secures federal funding for hydrogen projects

The Port of Oakland has announced that its hydrogen projects are in line to receive state funding of up to $1.2 billion.

This comes after the announcement made by President Biden’s administration on 13 October, awarding funds to California as a designated hydrogen hub.

“We are grateful to have outstanding federal, state, and local support for our vision to become a zero emissions seaport,” said Port of Oakland Executive Director Danny Wan.

“It takes major investments to finance initiatives like hydrogen projects that will deliver a greener, cleaner environment.

“We thank the leadership of the Newsom Administration and ARCHES and the funding support from the Department of Energy to advance vital goals that address climate change,” Wan added.

California was named as one of seven regional hubs across the country that combined, will receive a total of $7 billion in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding.

The funding is aimed at advancing the domestic market for low-cost, clean hydrogen. These regional hubs will produce and use hydrogen, improve air quality, and support California’s workforce with green jobs.

Port of Oakland is a partner in the Alliance for Renewable Clean Hydrogen Energy Systems (ARCHES), a statewide public-private partnership that will build the framework for California’s renewable, clean hydrogen hub. The San Pedro Bay ports are also project partners.

ARCHES was the coordinator for California’s federal hydrogen hub grant application that included Port of Oakland projects.

The port’s projects include construction of hydrogen fuelling stations and replacement of cargo handling equipment with zero-emissions hydrogen fuel cell technology.

Details of the Port of Oakland’s portion of the grant will be developed over the coming months, in coordination with ARCHES and the Department of Energy.

This is the latest milestone in the Port of Oakland’s stride towards its decarbonisation targets.

Earlier this month, the Port of Oakland hosted the Zero Emissions Truck Ride and Drive event, providing port operators the opportunity to experience state-of-the-art zero emissions vehicles first-hand.

More recently, Green Marine certified the Port of Oakland this week through its environmental programme, the Seaport Air Quality 2020 and Beyond Plan, in support of the port’s transition to zero emissions operations.