SoCalGas, Bloom in hydrogen-to-power project

Southern California Gas (SoCalGas), the largest natural gas distribution company in the US, and fuel cell developer Bloom Energy, said December 14 they will collaborate on a project to demonstrate the future of hydrogen and the technologies needed to decarbonise natural gas distribution infrastructure.

The project, set to launch next year on the campus of the California Institute of Technology (CalTech) in Pasadena, will generate hydrogen from grid electricity using Bloom’s solid oxide, high-temperature electrolyser and then blend that hydrogen into CalTech’s natural gas infrastructure.

The resulting 10% blend will then be converted into electricity through existing Bloom fuel cells downstream of the SoCalGas meter to meet a portion of CalTech’s electricity needs.

At scale, the electrolyser and fuel cell combination could enable long duration clean energy storage and low-carbon distributed power generation through the gas network for businesses, residential neighborhoods, and dense urban areas. When configured as a microgrid, it could also provide resilient power when and where energy is needed most, protecting businesses, campuses or neighborhoods from widespread power outages.

“We need to pursue a diverse set of decarbonisation levers,” SoCalGas president Maryam Brown said. “Projects like this expand and accelerate clean fuel initiatives, which will help decarbonise California faster.”