It was a show of power in every sense. On a sunny September day in Oakland, political bigwigs, industry honchos, and assorted media gathered at the city’s port to celebrate an emerging star in the energy realm: hydrogen. Every level of government was represented. California’s governor and senior senator were there, smiling and shaking hands with Oakland’s mayor, who was narrating the event for a camera of her own.
“We’re celebrating the hydrogen fuel system,” then-Mayor Sheng Thao announced. Specifically, they were celebrating the federal investment in hydrogen energy and infrastructure at the port. The state had been chosen by the Biden administration as the site of one of seven “hydrogen hubs” across the nation, receiving $1.2 billion to promote the creation of clean, consistent hydrogen fuel.
A month later, the port of Oakland would receive a historic $322 million grant by way of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Ports Program. The project invests in electric and hydrogen equipment, battery storage and charging infrastructure, the elimination of existing diesel equipment, and community engagement activities, among other things.
The event in September was a tour of some of the hydrogen-powered technology already in use at the port. Among the VIPs present was Angelina Galiteva, the CEO of the Alliance for Renewable Clean Hydrogen Energy Systems. ARCHES, a corporation made up of a mix of private and public entities, is California’s hydrogen hub, and when Galiteva took the stage to address the crowd, it was in the role of hydrogen’s hype person.
“Hydrogen will allow us to take that renewable energy,” she said, “and literally make sunshine in a bottle.”
Talk to renewable energy experts and environmentalists, however, and some different imagery suggests itself. They point out that not all hydrogen is created equal — or “clean” — and that questions remain about its viability as a wide-scale alternative energy source. And they say that ARCHES, which the port is partnered with, is not exactly forthcoming with details about its hydrogen production plans, despite concerns about the effects on nearby communities. One environmental group staffer, broadly supportive of the Port of Oakland project, called ARCHES a “black box” of information. Here, at least, sunlight seemed in short supply.
Hydrogen: Abundant? Yes. Clean? Sometimes.
You may remember from middle school science class that hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe. It’s a naturally occurring element on Earth and also plays a key role in our solar system — our stars and sun are basically big balls of hydrogen and helium gas.
Hydrogen is also what is known as an energy carrier, meaning that it can transfer energy from one place to another. This differs from an energy source that creates the energy itself.
In the industrial sector, hydrogen has been used for years, playing a key role in oil refining, as well as methanol and ammonia production. In recent years, there has been growing excitement about using hydrogen as an alternative energy source — one that could particularly help us cut our reliance on fossil fuels and lower our carbon emissions. But the process for producing hydrogen energy in a viable form is energy-intensive and, depending on the method, can vary in its “cleanliness.”
Right now, there are three main ways to make hydrogen and thus three classifications of the end product: gray hydrogen, blue hydrogen, and green hydrogen.
Gray hydrogen is produced by separating hydrogen from methane gas with byproducts of hydrogen and carbon dioxide. Blue hydrogen is made in the same way, but carbon is recaptured in the process. Green hydrogen uses a process called electrolysis to separate hydrogen from water and leaves only oxygen and hydrogen as the byproducts. While green hydrogen is promising, it is not done on a large scale at this time because it requires a lot of energy to separate the water molecules. There are other production methods, including the creation of hydrogen through biomass gasification.
In 2023, the Biden administration made clear investments in the future of hydrogen production, announcing the creation of seven hydrogen hubs across the United States, to the tune of $7 billion. In a press release on the hubs, the White House stated, “Advancing clean hydrogen is essential to achieving the President’s vision of a strong clean energy economy that strengthens energy security, bolsters domestic manufacturing, creates healthier communities, and delivers new jobs and economic opportunities across the nation.”
“Clean hydrogen” is a term of art referring to hydrogen that is produced with a lower carbon footprint than traditional methods. The Department of Energy’s clean hydrogen production standard says that for every kilogram of hydrogen produced, there should be no more than 4 kilograms of carbon dioxide produced in return across the lifecycle of that hydrogen.
The excitement over hydrogen has reached California. Gov. Gavin Newsom has been vocal about his support of hydrogen production in the state, promoting it as a way for California to reach its climate goals.
But environmentalists have been quick to note that hydrogen, while undoubtedly a player in decarbonization efforts, should not be seen as a miracle solution. And many are wary that large-scale production without proper oversight could negatively impact both the environment and already at-risk communities.
What the new hydrogen tech could mean for Oakland
West Oakland experiences some of the highest air pollution in the area from truck traffic. The federal money would allow the port to incorporate zero-emissions drayage trucks — a big step toward addressing the bad air over West Oakland, according to Fern Uennatornwaranggoon, Pacific Environment’s climate campaign director for ports.
The project includes the implementation of 663 pieces of zero-emissions equipment fueled either by battery or by hydrogen fuel cell. Uennatornwaranggoon calls the grant a significant win for the groups that had been working for it. Pacific Environment was part of a coalition of environmental and community organizations that was in conversation with the port while it was drafting its grant proposal.
“I think they really heard us, and this was particularly around electrifying drayage trucks,” said Uennatornwaranggoon. “They really took time to investigate and research possibilities and ended up putting something on the ground that is, I think, quite innovative. Overall, we’re happy.”
Hydrogen plays a relatively small role in the zero-emission equipment that the port will be implementing, but it has generated a lot of excitement. Earlier this year, the Port of Oakland celebrated the launch of a heavy-duty hydrogen fueling station located near the port and the East Bay Municipal Utility District. This included the introduction of 30 hydrogen fuel cell trucks in Northern California.
This fueling station will be implemented for the clean ports project. The port’s fact sheet on the project states: “The Port will leverage this hydrogen fueling station and the lessons learned in delivering it. This gives the Port an enormous head start and eliminates a significant barrier to the adoption of hydrogen fuel cell equipment.”
All of this may sound like a promising step toward zero-emissions infrastructure. But it may not be as eco-friendly as it seems. The hydrogen being used at the port is currently being trucked in, Uennatorwaranggoon noted, and the production methods of that hydrogen are mixed.
“It is not all green, it’s part gray,” she said. “So really, even though there’s no emissions from hydrogen production in Oakland for the use at the port, it’s happening elsewhere.”
Gray hydrogen results in increased carbon emissions and can also lead to unintended methane leaks. While Uennatorwaranggoon said Pacific Environment has open dialogues with entities like the port to try to push them toward greener hydrogen, the production standards just aren’t feasible yet because green hydrogen is in “very, very limited supply.”
When asked about the breakdown of the hydrogen sourcing at the port, spokesperson David DeWitt said: “As far as hydrogen sourcing, we will work with our project partners to bring in clean hydrogen fuel. We have partnered with ARCHES whose goal is to advance clean hydrogen to California.”
ARCHES and an unclear future
When California was selected as one of the hydrogen hubs under the Biden administration, it did so through ARCHES. The alliance is made up of 400 entities, some public, some private, with a stated goal of “a sustainable, statewide, clean hydrogen hub in California.”
ARCHES uses the federal definition of clean energy and states publicly that it prefers not to use color demarcations for hydrogen. However, the details of the production, the location of facilities, and the impact on surrounding communities are less clear. Almost a year after ARCHES was established, concerns are growing among environmentalists and community organizations about the lack of transparency from the alliance and other hydrogen hubs.
In a statement regarding hubs, the Natural Resources Defence Council in May 2024 stated: “Despite concerted efforts by groups across the country, environmental justice advocates and frontline communities have largely been kept in the dark on key details and basic information about many of these projects. Well-founded fears about the health and environmental impacts of the hubs are growing — and going unaddressed.”
Uennatornwaranggoon echoed this sentiment, saying that for those who have been trying to get more information locally about ARCHES, the organization has been a “black box.”
The secrecy is by design. Upon joining ARCHES, members had to sign a nondisclosure agreement to protect proprietary information. Some environmental groups have condemned ARCHES for the NDAs, arguing that the alliance’s plans should be publicly available and that the lack of clarity stifles collaboration between the organization and community groups and other stakeholders. Some information, like the technical volume for ARCHES’ proposal to the Department of Energy, is public. But it is heavily redacted because it contains proprietary information. There do seem to be plans to place at least 10 production sites in the Central Valley, but there’s limited information on what that will look like.
In response to questions from The Oaklandside about how hydrogen from ARCHES will be produced and what ARCHES does to mitigate any air-quality concerns associated with some forms of hydrogen production, a representative for the organization sent the following statement via email: “ARCHES aligns with the federal definition of clean hydrogen … and prioritizes renewable energy sources such as such as solar, wind, and water—and biogenic waste, including municipal, wastewater and woody feedstocks for production. The potential of renewable clean hydrogen is significant, with the U.S. Department of Energy reports that its use in transportation and industrial applications can reduce emissions by 40-90%— further underscoring the importance of ARCHES’ projects in creating healthier communities across California.”
As Oakland and other cities continue to tout the promise of hydrogen, many questions are still unanswered — not least about the health costs of hydrogen use and who will have to bear them and whether the efforts here and elsewhere are only an exercise in shifting the problem around.
“When we think about the use of hydrogen fuel cells that could help improve air quality locally in Oakland,” said Uennatornwaranggoon, “we don’t want that to be promoting gray hydrogen production that will both potentially increase air pollution elsewhere as well as prolonging the life of the fossil fuel industry elsewhere.”