Los Angeles City Council President Nury Martinez, 6th District, and Council President Pro Tempore Mitch O’Farrell, 13th District, led the Los Angeles City Council in a unanimous vote on May 17 that will allow the city to apply for federal funds to designate Los Angeles as a center of green hydrogen technology.

Green hydrogen has been identified as a key strategy to transition hard-to-electrify industries away from fossil fuels, while cleaning the air in underserved communities and helping Los Angeles achieve its 100% renewable energy by 2035, the council members said.

“As a job center and capital of innovation with a diverse renewable energy portfolio, Los Angeles is well positioned to become a leader in green hydrogen technology, which can play a critical part in our efforts to create cleaner air and achieve our 100% renewable energy goal by 2035,” said O’Farrell, chair of the City Councils’ Energy, Climate Change, Environmental Justice and L.A. River Committee. “The federal funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill is a once-in-a lifetime opportunity to bring this jobs-creating industry to Los Angeles in a process that prioritizes equity, environmental justice and well-paying jobs.”

Following the council’s approval, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, the Port of Los Angeles and other city departments will submit a proposal to the United States Department of Energy to designate the greater Los Angeles region as a green hydrogen hub. More than $8 billion in federal funds are available in the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill for municipalities that make the designation. The federal bill allocates funding for the creation of at least four regional Hydrogen Hubs across the nation. The Department of Energy will oversee the initiatives as part of its Clean Energy Demonstration Program.

The council also directed the city’s Climate Emergency Mobilization Office to involve historically underserved communities in the application process.

“[This] vote is a step in the right direction to more opportunities and good-paying jobs for working Angelenos,” said Chris Hannan, executive secretary for the Los Angeles/Orange Counties Building and Construction Trades Council. “Our pursuit and thoughtful investment in burgeoning technologies like green hydrogen will ensure that Los Angeles stays at the forefront of new industries that will uplift the next generation of workers.”