North America’s largest gas distributor, Southern California Gas Company (Socalgas), has outlined plans for a major green hydrogen pipeline network potentially capable of delivering 1.5bn t/yr of the clean fuel across the Los Angeles industrial basin.

Socalgas has submitted initial plans to the California Public Utilities Commission for the Los Angeles Link project, which it says would be the biggest green hydrogen infrastructure system in the US.

Socalgas, which is owned by Sempra Energy, says the project could see green hydrogen replace about a quarter of the gas in its distribution system, with the aim of decarbonising heavy-duty transport, manufacturing industry and power generation in the Los Angeles basin.

“We are very excited about this project. It is at a scope and scale that is intended to really face head on the challenges of climate change and California's energy policy,” Neil Navin, vice-president, clean energy innovations at Socalgas, tells Hydrogen Economist.

25pc – Share of natural gas to be replaced with hydrogen in Socalgas network

Green hydrogen produced with solar and wind would be pumped through newly constructed pipelines, with the total investment expected to run to billions of dollars

 “We are the nation's largest natural gas utility, so we expect the investment to be very large,” says Navin.

Socalgas does not at this stage envisage direct government funding for its project, but it expects the Los Angeles Link to potentially draw federal funds into the hydrogen-consuming sectors it will supply.

“Certainly, federal dollars are going to be available for hydrogen hubs, and we would see this project as a foundation for our partners to essentially apply for those funds. We see (the project) really as a catalyst for that,” Navin says. “It is not lost on us that the federal government is investing $8bn in hydrogen hubs in the US [and] Los Angeles is the largest manufacturing centre in the US.”

Three phases

The timetable for the project initially involves three phases, each lasting 12-18 months and covering stakeholder engagement, Feed work and environmental permitting. “We are at least five years away at this point before starting serious construction, but a lot of that will really depend on engagement with our regulators [and] with our offtakers. There is a real urgency within the Los Angeles region to work on accelerating decarbonisation,” says Navin.

One significant potential offtaker of hydrogen is the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP). It has publicly committed to first blend hydrogen into its existing gas turbines and then ultimately switch to 100pc hydrogen, according to Navin. This would involve retrofitting over 3GW of generation capacity with new hydrogen-fuelled turbines.

“We would see customers such as the LADWP as one of those that would ultimately be supporting the project,” he says.

Solar state

Socalgas does not envisage investing in green hydrogen production itself, but it sees the Los Angeles Link as a catalyst for investment by developers of electrolyser capacity based on the state’s solar resources.

“We are the nation's largest natural gas utility, so we expect the investment to be very large” Navin, Socalgas

“California is blessed with an abundance of solar and very high solar irradiance, and so we see the green hydrogen being produced essentially in the eastern part of the state,” Navin says.

“At the moment, we see our role as a mover of molecules. And we would see the renewables assets and likely the electrolysis as well as largely owned by developers. We would be the interconnection between the production and end-users.”

Navin cites the ambitions of Hydeal Los Angeles, an initiative with significant industry backing to create North America’s first competitive, high-volume supply chain for green hydrogen, delivering green hydrogen at $1.50/kg by 2030.

“There is very high interest in developing a green hydrogen economy within California,” he adds.

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Author: Stuart Penson