Agenda Item: 9
CITY OF SANTA CLARITA
AGENDA REPORT
CONSENT CALENDAR
CITY MANAGER APPROVAL:
DATE: September 22, 2026
SUBJECT: TEMPORARY HYDROGEN REFUELING SERVICES CONTRACT DEPARTMENT: Economic Development
PRESENTER: Adrian Aguilar
RECOMMENDED ACTION
City Council:
1. Award a four-month contract with five one-month extensions to ZeroUp Energy, Inc., for the rental of temporary hydrogen refueling equipment and the delivery of hydrogen, in an amount not to exceed $1,726,000.
2. Appropriate one-time Federal 5307 grant funds in the amount of $407,500 to Transit Capital Outlay, Contractual Services Expenditure Account (7003702-516101), and increase Miscellaneous Federal Grants Revenue Account (700-442409) by $407,500, for the rental of temporary hydrogen fueling equipment.
3. Authorize the City Manager or designee to execute the five, one-month contract extensions, not to exceed the annual contract amount.
4. Authorize the City Manager or designee to execute all contracts and associated documents, subject to City Attorney review.
BACKGROUND
In accordance with the State of California’s Innovative Clean Transit (ICT) regulation, Santa Clarita Transit (SCT) is actively transitioning its fleet from diesel and compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles to a fully zero-emission fleet by 2040. This transition is being implemented through a phased fleet replacement strategy, infrastructure investments, and the deployment of multiple zero-emission technologies to ensure compliance with ICT’s regulation and environmentally sustainable operations. Hydrogen fuel cell electric buses (FCEBs) are a key component of SCT’s long-term fleet strategy, offering extended range and fast refueling for fixed-route service.
To support the FCEB fleet, SCT is constructing a state-of-the-art hydrogen production and fueling station at the Transit Maintenance Facility. This facility is designed as a scalable, end-to- end solution capable of supporting current and future fleet demands, including on-site hydrogen production, compression, storage, and dispensing. The station will enable SCT to generate and utilize hydrogen locally, improving operational longevity while reducing reliance on delivered fuel.
Due to extended lead times for key equipment, construction of the permanent hydrogen production and fueling station at the Transit Maintenance Facility has been delayed and SCT requires a temporary mobile hydrogen refueling solution. As SCT prepares to deploy hydrogen fuel cell electric buses into revenue service, the temporary refueling services will provide interim hydrogen fueling, ensuring operational continuity, minimizing service disruptions, and allowing SCT to proceed with planned vehicle deployment timelines while the permanent station continues construction and becomes fully operational.
While the cost of the temporary fueling equipment rental was unanticipated and a new expenditure, the cost of the hydrogen fuel would have been incurred regardless of the temporary fueling arrangement, as the City of Santa Clarita (City) would have incurred the associated water and electric utility costs to produce hydrogen at the permanent station. If approved, federal funding earmarked for the construction of the hydrogen station would be appropriated to cover the cost of the temporary equipment rental and the funding currently budgeted for utilities will be used to pay for the cost of the delivered hydrogen.
Solicitation Process
The City issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) on July 20, 2026, to solicit proposals for temporary hydrogen mobile refueling services to support the launch of SCT’s initial seven hydrogen fuel cell electric bus roll-out. The RFP closed on August 20, 2026, with 32 vendors downloading the RFP and a total of four proposals received.
A panel of three City staff members and two consultants reviewed and evaluated each of the four proposals. Each proposal was scored based on the vendor’s ability to meet the fueling demands of the City’s new hydrogen buses and on the following selection criteria:
Criterion Weighted Points (100 Points Total)
Contractor Qualifications and Experience 15 Points
System Design and Capabilities 25 Points
Technical Approach and Program Management 25 Points
Safety Management 10 Points
Cost of Materials and Services 25 Points
The final results of the proposal evaluations are shown below:
Vendor Total Score (/100 Points)
ZeroUp Energy, Inc. 85 Points
Avina Clean Hydrogen, Inc. 78 Points
Simoneta LTD, DBA Hyroad Energy 70 Points
WestAir Gases & Equipment, Inc. 61 Points
Transit staff recommends the award of the temporary hydrogen refueling services contract to ZeroUp Energy, Inc., as they were the highest-ranked vendor in the evaluation process. This contract will have an initial four-month term, with the option to extend the contract on a monthly basis for up to five months, exercisable at the sole discretion of the City, subject to continued need, satisfactory performance, availability of funding, and written authorization.
FISCAL IMPACT
Upon approval of the recommended actions, budget for the Transit Capital Outlay, Contractual Services Expenditure Account (7003702-516101) will increase by $407,500 and Miscellaneous Federal Grants Revenue Account (700-442409) will increase by $407,500. Additionally, sufficient funding is available in the Transit Gas Utility Account (7003700-513102) for Fiscal Year 2026-27 in the amount of $1,318,500 to cover the remaining contract balance.