Chevron announced plans Tuesday to build 30 hydrogen fueling sites at Chevron-branded retail locations across California by 2026 in partnership with Iwatani Corp. The fueling sites will be supplied, in part, by hydrogen produced here in Richmond.
The announcement is part of a broader, long-ranging goal by Chevron to create a green hydrogen fuel infrastructure that will, in part, provide a zero-emission energy source for commercial and passenger cars and trucks. Hydrogen is considered a key component in the Bay Area’s energy transition.
Richmond is slated to play a key role in the effort. The 30 new hydrogen fuel stations will be supplied in part by excess hydrogen production capacity at the Chevron Richmond Refinery, as well as from a future hydrogen production facility at the Republic Services landfill in Richmond.
Last summer, Chevron invested in a partnership with Raven SR and others in the development of modular waste-to-hydrogen production facilities in Northern California. The facility at Republic Services in Richmond will take up about 1.5 acres, process up to 70 tons of waste per day and produce 5,000 kilograms of hydrogen fuel daily. Raven SR’s patented process to produce hydrogen does not involve combustion and consumes less water than competing technologies. About 85 percent of the electricity for the hydrogen production will be generated onsite within the Raven SR facility.
Raven SR hopes to have its Richmond facility operational in September or October.
“Chevron believes that hydrogen has the potential to assist in lowering the carbon emissions of the transportation sector and other hard-to-decarbonize industries,” said Andy Walz, president of Americas Fuels & Lubricants for Chevron. “We are excited to work with Iwatani to advance the entire hydrogen transportation value chain from production to consumer purchase in order to help our customers lower their lifecycle transportation carbon intensities.”
Correction: The story has been updated to correct information regarding the source of electricity for hydrogen production at the Raven SR facility.
