Senate Bill 643: Clean Hydrogen Fuel Production and Refueling Infrastructure to Support Medium- and Heavy-Duty Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles and Off-Road Applications

In 2020, Governor Gavin Newsom issued Executive Order N-79-20, which expanded sales and operation targets for medium- and heavy duty (MDHD) zero-emission vehicles (ZEV) and off-road applications. The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has issued regulations that are accelerating the transition to zero-emission transportation. The California Energy Commission (CEC) and other agencies are investing in MDHD ZEV infrastructure statewide.

Under Senate Bill 643 (Archuleta, Chapter 646, Statutes of 2021), the CEC has prepared the first of three statewide assessments of the MDHD hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) refueling infrastructure and clean hydrogen fuel production necessary to meet statewide goals and requirements relating to vehicular air pollution. This initial assessment provides an overview of operating and planned MDHD FCEV refueling stations and early scenarios of infrastructure needs. These scenarios use data from CARB’s 2022 Scoping Plan, the Alliance for Renewable Clean Hydrogen Energy Systems (ARCHES) partnership, the California Transportation Commission’s analysis for SB 671, and a 2022 energy demand planning scenario from the CEC.

The scenarios produced a wide range of results, estimating anywhere from 1 to 601 MDHD stations needed by 2030, and by 2035, the range varied from 11 to more than 2,000 stations. On the supply side, clean hydrogen production is nearly nonexistent in California but is anticipated to grow in the near future.

At the end of 2022, more than 2,300 MDHD ZEVs were registered in California, and over 100 of these were fuel cell electric buses. CARB’s incentive program for commercial MDHD ZEVs has funded 2,456 vehicles of which 49 are fuel cell electric. To date, the CEC has invested more than $100 million for MDHD hydrogen infrastructure deployment, including funding awards to 18 publicly accessible refueling stations. The CEC will continue to evaluate new information and associated infrastructure requirements as the market develops.