California will spend $1.4bn of public money on building new hydrogen refuelling stations (HRSs) and EV chargers, after Governor Gavin Newsom’s plan was approved by the state regulator, the California Energy Commission (CEC).
Details about the hydrogen part of the plan are thin, but an official statement from the CEC hints that the HRSs will be designed to cater for heavy-duty trucks.
The CEC stated that “these investments will help deploy infrastructure for light, medium and heavy-duty zero-emissions vehicles across California, expanding the most extensive charging and hydrogen refueling network in the country”.
But it adds: “The funds approved today will result in nearly 17,000 new light-duty chargers statewide”, without giving a corresponding number for HRSs.
As only light-duty EV chargers will be built using the new funding, and the statement refers to infrastructure for medium and heavy-duty vehicles, this suggests that the H2 infrastructure will cater for the larger vehicles.
Last year, plans were approved to ban all diesel-powered heavy-duty vehicles in the state by 2042, with the purchase of new diesel trucks forbidden from 2036.
The new funding will become available through the state’s existing Clean Transportation Program “over the next four years and distributed to projects through competitive grants,” the CEC adds.
The programme has so far invested $2.3bn in zero-emission-vehicle infrastructure, alternative fuel, and advanced vehicle technologies — and has allocated funding for 96 public HRSs, although only 44 are open today.
