[H2] Innovation Experience Microgrid Produces and Uses Renewable Hydrogen for the First Time at Demonstration Project in Downey

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) today announced that its [H2] Innovation Experience in Downey is now using renewable hydrogen that is produced onsite. The project will demonstrate the resiliency and reliability of a renewable hydrogen microgrid that can power neighborhoods – just in time to kick off National Clean Energy Week.

The [H2] Innovation Experience features a nearly 2,000 square-foot home that can use reliable and clean hydrogen 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, by drawing power from solar panels on sunny days and converting excess energy into renewable hydrogen, which can be stored and then converted back into electricity, as needed, via an on-site hydrogen fuel cell. Hydrogen will also be blended with natural gas and used in the home's tank-less water heater, clothes dryer, and gas stove, fireplace and BBQ grill. The home is being constructed to LEED Platinum standards.

The project's electrolyzer, which uses solar power to split water, has now produced its first full kilogram of renewable hydrogen – the first ever produced by SoCalGas -- which is intended to power a fuel cell to provide power when solar isn't available. One kilogram of hydrogen, roughly equivalent to a gallon of gasoline, emits only water as a byproduct. The limited production of hydrogen at this site as part of this demonstration project is specifically intended to show the microgrid's effectiveness in terms of reliability and resiliency.

"The production of the first kilogram of renewable hydrogen by SoCalGas is a key milestone as we prepare to welcome visitors to our [H2] Innovation Experience in the coming months," said Neil Navin, Vice President of Clean Energy Innovations at SoCalGas. "This project shows the essential role clean fuels like renewable hydrogen can play in meeting California's clean energy and resiliency goals and highlights our progress toward making net zero a reality. And projects like this, along with efforts like those to develop a statewide hydrogen blending standard, have the potential to drive down the costs of renewable hydrogen, making it a valuable tool to help decarbonize California."

"On behalf of my council colleagues and myself, I would like to congratulate SoCalGas on this momentous achievement," added Downey Mayor Blanca Pacheco. "The use of green hydrogen could greatly reduce carbon emissions and help in our fight against climate change. By building on the benefits of using hydrogen generated by renewable energy, our city can continue to be at the forefront of technology and environmental sustainability."

SoCalGas is at the forefront of sustainability having announced its aim to have net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045. It is the first large natural gas utility in the United States to do so.

SoCalGas has been at the forefront of clean energy innovation and is aggressively working to develop a suite of tools to help with those decarbonization efforts, particularly in hard-to-electrify sectors: hydrogen, hydrogen blending, renewable natural gas and carbon management, to name some of the clean energy tools being developed and employed as part of its overall clean energy strategy.

That strategy is already in full motion. Earlier this month, SoCalGas partnered with UCI on a proposal to demonstrate how hydrogen can be safely blended into existing natural gas infrastructure on the university's campus and take California a step closer to establishing a statewide injection standard for renewable hydrogen. Additionally, in February, the company proposed developing the Angeles Link, a dedicated green hydrogen energy infrastructure system for delivering clean reliable energy to the Los Angeles Basin to serve hard to electrify sectors of the economy like electric generation, heavy-duty transportation, and heavy industry and manufacturing.

SoCalGas research has shown that with clean fuels like renewable natural gas and hydrogen, coupled with carbon management, California can reach 100% net zero goals more affordably, more equitably and with less risk of power disruptions, customer conversion barriers, and technological limitations.

For more information on the [H2] Innovation Experience, click here.

About SoCalGas

Headquartered in Los Angeles, SoCalGas® is the largest gas distribution utility in the United States. SoCalGas delivers affordable, reliable, and increasingly renewable gas service to 21.8 million consumers across 24,000 square miles of Central and Southern California. Gas delivered through the company's pipelines will continue to play a key role in California's clean energy transition—providing electric grid reliability and supporting wind and solar energy deployment.

SoCalGas' mission is to build the cleanest, safest and most innovative energy company in America. In support of that mission, SoCalGas aspires to have net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045 and to replacing 20 percent of its traditional natural gas supply to core customers with renewable natural gas (RNG) by 2030. Renewable natural gas is made from waste created by landfills, and wastewater treatment plants. SoCalGas is also committed to investing in its gas delivery infrastructure while keeping bills affordable for customers. SoCalGas is a subsidiary of Sempra (NYSE: SRE), an energy infrastructure company based in San Diego.

For more information visit socalgas.com/newsroom or connect with SoCalGas on Twitter (@SoCalGas), Instagram (@SoCalGas) and Facebook.

This press release contains statements that constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are based on assumptions with respect to the future, involve risks and uncertainties, and are not guarantees. Future results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements represent our estimates and assumptions only as of the date of this press release. We assume no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or other factors.

In this press release, forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as "believes," "expects," "intends," "anticipates," "contemplates," "plans," "estimates," "projects," "forecasts," "should," "could," "would," "will," "confident," "may," "can," "potential," "possible," "proposed," "in process," " construct," "develop," "opportunity," "target," "outlook," "maintain," "continue," "progress," "advance," "goal," "aim," "commit," or similar expressions, or when we discuss our guidance, priorities, strategy, goals, vision, mission, opportunities, projections, intentions or expectations.

Factors, among others, that could cause actual results and events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statement include risks and uncertainties relating to: decisions, investigations, regulations, issuances or revocations of permits and other authorizations, renewals of franchises, and other actions by (i) the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), U.S. Department of Energy, and other regulatory and governmental bodies and (ii) the U.S. and states, counties, cities and other jurisdictions therein in which we do business; the success of business development efforts and construction projects, including risks in (i) completing construction projects or other transactions on schedule and budget, (ii) realizing anticipated benefits from any of these efforts if completed, and (iii) obtaining the consent or approval of partners or other third parties, including governmental and regulatory bodies; civil and criminal litigation, regulatory inquiries, investigations, arbitrations and other proceedings, including those related to the natural gas leak at the Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility; changes to laws and regulations; cybersecurity threats, including by state and state-sponsored actors, to the energy grid, storage and pipeline infrastructure, information and systems used to operate our businesses, and confidentiality of our proprietary information and personal information of our customers and employees, including ransomware attacks on our systems and the systems of third-parties with which we conduct business, all of which have become more pronounced due to recent geopolitical events and other uncertainties, such as the war in Ukraine; failure of our counterparties to honor their contracts and commitments; actions by credit rating agencies to downgrade our credit ratings or to place those ratings on negative outlook and our ability to borrow on favorable terms and meet our debt service obligations; the impact of energy and climate policies, laws, rules and disclosures, as well as related goals and actions of companies in our industry, including actions to reduce or eliminate reliance on natural gas generally and any deterioration of or increased uncertainty in the political or regulatory environment for California natural gas distribution companies and the risk of nonrecovery for stranded assets; the pace of the development and adoption of new technologies in the energy sector, including those designed to support governmental and private party energy and climate goals, and our ability to timely and economically incorporate them into our business; weather, natural disasters, pandemics, accidents, equipment failures, explosions, acts of terrorism, information system outages or other events that disrupt our operations, damage our facilities and systems, cause the release of harmful materials, cause fires or subject us to liability for damages, fines and penalties, some of which may be disputed or not covered by insurers, may not be recoverable through regulatory mechanisms or may impact our ability to obtain satisfactory levels of affordable insurance; inflationary and interest rate pressures, volatility in commodity prices, our ability to effectively hedge these risks, and their impact, as applicable, on our cost of capital and the affordability of customer rates; the availability of natural gas and natural gas storage capacity, including disruptions caused by limitations on the withdrawal of natural gas from storage facilities; the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on capital projects, regulatory approvals and the execution of our operations; changes in tax and trade policies, laws and regulations, including tariffs, revisions to international trade agreements and sanctions, such as those that have been imposed and that may be imposed in the future in connection with the war in Ukraine, which may increase our costs, reduce our competitiveness, impact our ability to do business with certain counterparties, or impair our ability to resolve trade disputes; and other uncertainties, some of which are difficult to predict and beyond our control.

These risks and uncertainties are further discussed in the reports that the company has filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). These reports are available through the EDGAR system free-of-charge on the SEC's website, www.sec.gov, and on Sempra's website, www.sempra.com. Investors should not rely unduly on any forward-looking statements.

Sempra Infrastructure, Sempra Texas, Sempra Mexico, Sempra Texas Utilities, Oncor Electric Delivery Company LLC (Oncor) and Infraestructura Energética Nova, S.A.P.I. de C.V. (IEnova) are not the same companies as the California utilities, San Diego Gas & Electric Company or Southern California Gas Company, and Sempra Infrastructure, Sempra Texas, Sempra Mexico, Sempra Texas Utilities, Oncor and IEnova are not regulated by the CPUC.

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SOURCE Southern California Gas Company