CITY OF OAKLAND
CITY HALL • 1 FRANK H. OGAWA PLAZA • OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA 94612 #LoveLife
REBECCA KAPLAN (510) 238-7008
Vice Mayor FAX: (510) 238-6910
District At Large TDD: (510) 839-6451
Date: December 8, 2022
To: Members of City Council and Members of the Public
From: Vice Mayor Kaplan
Re: Highlighting Oakland’s Leadership in Hydrogen Adoption, Joining the Statewide Alliance for Renewable Clean Hydrogen Energy Systems (ARCHES), and Requesting Oakland be Considered as a Hydrogen Hub
Dear Colleagues on the City Council and Members of the Public, As communities in parts of Oakland have been, for decades, disproportionately impacted by air pollution, and higher rates of asthma and cancer, we must lead in adopting zero-emission technology, including for trucks and other sources of diesel emissions that are a major cause of these problems. Oakland and the East Bay regionally have been the site of major leadership in embracing zero-emission vehicle technology, including heavy-duty trucks and buses, which we seek to expand.
This fall, theGovernor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) announced the formation of the Alliance for Renewable Clean Hydrogen Energy Systems (ARCHES), a shared not-for-profit LLC public-private partnership designed to accelerate hydrogen’s contribution to decarbonizing the economy in California. To ensure the City of Oakland is an active collaborator in the State’s effort, this resolution highlights Oakland’s leadership in hydrogen adoption, requests that Oakland be considered as a location for a potential statewide clean hydrogen hub, and declares the City’s intent to enter into a memorandum of commitment to join ARCHES. Participation in ARCHES would allow Oakland to build a healthier future and create local quality green jobs while reducing pollution impacts and transitioning to clean locally produced energy.
Through collaboration with government, industry, non-governmental organizations, research institutions, and communities, ARCHES aims to establish a federally co-funded renewable hydrogen hub in California, and create an economically sustainable and expanding, renewable hydrogen market. ARCHES will submit California’s state-wide application for federal hydrogen hub funding from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill (BIL), which made available $8 billion for six to ten hubs nationally.
Oakland wishes to be considered a potential location for a hydrogen hub to accelerate its contribution to decarbonizing the economy and has clearly demonstrated its commitment to hydrogen adoption and leadership.
City Council
December 8, 2022
File # 22-0988
In 2021, the Center for Transportation and the Environment, in partnership with the City of Oakland and 15 other public and private organizations secured $54 million to build and deploy 30 hydrogen fuel cell electric trucks and a supporting hydrogen fueling station at the East Bay Municipal Utility treatment plant, adjacent to the Port of Oakland. The NorCal ZERO project is the largest commercial deployment of Class 8 Fuel Cell Electric Trucks in North America, highlighting Oakland’s leading efforts to embrace hydrogen technology. I recently discussed this exciting project (link to powerpoint) at the 2022 Mobility Innovators Forum to illustrate what is possible regarding public-private partnerships in green transportation (link to presentation).
In addition, for more than 20 years, Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District (AC Transit) has been a leader in adopting and advancing zero-emission technology, mandating its entire bus fleet’s transition to zero-emission by 2040. AC Transit has expanded its hydrogen fueling capacity to serve up to 78 buses between its Oakland and Emeryville divisions and has also secured funding to expand its hydrogen fueling capacity to 130 buses at the Oakland division alone.
Oakland clearly exemplifies the priorities guiding ARCHES, by leading the State in hydrogen adoption, collaborating across sectors for hydrogen delivery, storage, and end-uses, developing and implementing policies that have scaled up hydrogen’s early markets, and centering the voices of communities directly impacted by the harmful effects of mobile source emissions. Time and again, the State has come to Oakland as a leader that embraces hydrogen energy and technology, such as when I spoke at the 2021 State Senate Select Committee on Hydrogen Energy (link to video).
This resolution extends Oakland’s support to ARCHES and its mission toaccelerate hydrogen’s contribution to decarbonizing the economy in California, welcomes the opportunity to be a location for a hydrogen hub, and enters the City into a Memorandum of Commitment (MOC) to join the ARCHES network to create a sustainable statewide clean hydrogen hub.
Thank you for your consideration,
Vice Mayor Rebecca Kaplan
City Council
December 8, 2022
File # 22-0988