PR92195

LANCASTER, Calif., Oct. 8, 2021 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/ --

The annual National Hydrogen Day has capped a week of excitement and progress

in the international hydrogen community, starting with the Hydrogen Energy

Ministerial on Monday. Though the Ministerial typically provides a global stage

for hydrogen advancement, this year, local-level commitments underlined the

growing importance of this essential energy resource. In his opening remarks,

Japan's Vice Minister of Economy, Trade, and Industry, Naoshi Hirose,

congratulated two cities at opposite ends of the globe – Lancaster, CA and

Namie, Japan – on becoming the first in the world to partner in advancing

hydrogen innovation at the local level. Mayor R. Rex Parris of Lancaster and

Mayor Kazuhiro Yoshida of Namie were both present at the 2021 Ministerial to

confirm their historic commitment and promote their "Smart Sister Cities"

initiative to advance clean hydrogen technology at the municipal level.

Photo -

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Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1655580/Namie_Japan_Mayor_Yoshida.jpg

"Though Lancaster and Namie are the first cities to forge a partnership powered

by hydrogen, we hope not to be the last," said Mayor R. Rex Parris of

Lancaster. "We urge municipalities around the globe to join our 'Smart Sister

Cities' movement towards reducing our emissions and saving our planet."

Both Lancaster and Namie are trailblazers in municipal clean energy innovation.

Mayor Parris launched Lancaster's clean energy transition over a decade ago,

inaugurating the city's own clean energy utility company and, in 2019, earning

Lancaster the title of the first "net zero" city in the world through its

investments in solar energy. Now, Lancaster aims to become the first U.S. city

to fully embrace hydrogen, hosting a green hydrogen production and anaerobic

digestion plant, as well as transitioning City Hall to run solely on hydrogen

power. This future-looking vision has drawn billions of dollars in investments,

jobs, and taxes to Lancaster from industry leaders including electric bus

manufacturer BYD, the world's first concentrated solar-power-to-hydrogen

company Heliogen, anaerobic digestion innovator Hitachi Zosen Inova, and

hydrogen gasification company SGH2.

Namie Mayor Kazuhiro Yoshida shares this vision of using hydrogen innovation to

drive development and progress. "The cities will focus on using their unique

resources to advance hydrogen production, storage, distribution and usage," he

told the forum, adding that they will also "pursu[e] a roadmap that encourages

economic development and social progress." Namie emerged from the devastation

of the 2011 Nuclear disaster at Fukushima to rebuild and reimagine itself as

the world's first hydrogen city. In 2020, the town inaugurated the world's

largest solar-to-hydrogen facility at the time, ensuring a supply of hydrogen

that is so reliable, it was even used to power the eternal flame of the 2021

Tokyo Olympics.

With the Olympics coming to Lancaster's doorstep later this decade, Kathryn

Barger, Supervisor of Los Angeles County, challenged the city to build on

hydrogen's newfound place at the games. "Wouldn't it be great if Lancaster

could supply the hydrogen for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles?" she remarked

at the cities' hydrogen MOU signing event in July.

Other officials have taken notice of the global impact of these trailblazing

cities, including U.S. Congressional Representative Mike Garcia of California's

25th District. "I want to recognize the City of Lancaster and the City of Namie

in Fukushima, Japan for becoming 'sister cities' in their dedication to the

promotion of hydrogen as a clean energy source for transportation and

electricity," he stated. "I look forward to seeing what this partnership yields

for Lancaster, CA-25, the State of California, and the world."

Although these local efforts have had an outsized impact, Mayor Parris of

Lancaster made it clear that the U.S. and Japanese governments should support

their "Smart Sister City" vision through investment in hydrogen infrastructure

if they are to create change. "Though we are proud to be leading the way in

hydrogen innovation, climate change is not a problem that we alone can solve.

Addressing imminent climate extinction will require investment, engagement, and

collaboration from decisionmakers at every level," he said.

This sentiment was echoed by Lex Heslin, Senior Project Developer at Hitachi

Zosen Inova, which advises Lancaster on its Hydrogen Master Plan. "These cities

are uniquely positioned to affect change at a granular level. Other local and

national government agencies -- along with academia, the research community,

and the private sector -- should do all we can to invest in them and expand

this critical platform for innovation and change."

Source - City of Lancaster, California

CONTACT:  LancasterH2@fticonsulting.com