Hydrogen microgrid potential demonstrated on California’s Caltech campus

Southern California Gas (SoCalGas) and Bloom Energy have implemented hydrogen production and blending on Caltech’s grid.

The project, which utilises a solid oxide electrolyser and fuel cells from Bloom Energy, is aimed to demonstrate the potential of hydrogen for the creation of a microgrid as well as a clean energy solution for long duration energy storage and dispatchable power generation.

In the project, water is taken from Caltech's service line, which is then run through the grid energy powered electrolyser to create hydrogen.

The resulting hydrogen is injected into Caltech's natural gas infrastructure upstream of the fuel cells, creating up to a 20% blend of hydrogen and natural gas.

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All of this fuel blend is then converted into electricity with the fuel cells, which is then distributed for use on campus.

"This collaborative effort represents a significant step in harnessing hydrogen as a resilient, clean energy solution," said Maryam Brown, President of SoCalGas.

"Integrating cutting-edge electrolysers and fuel cell technology into existing infrastructure demonstrates the potential for building robust microgrids, enhancing power resiliency for businesses, communities and campuses at scale."

While the potential of hydrogen blending in natural gas infrastructure is still open to debate, its wider introduction in California requires the development of a hydrogen injection standard, which the Caltech project testing blends from 5% up to 20% was proposed to inform.

In August California Governor Gavin Newsom initiated the development of a hydrogen market strategy to support the achievement of the state’s clean energy goals and the decarbonisation of the transport and industrial sectors.

Subsequently, the state also has been selected as one of the seven regional ‘hydrogen hubs’ across the US.

In his announcement, Newsom stated the hydrogen market needs to be scaled up by 1,700 times by 2045 to meet the state’s carbon neutrality goal.