SoCalGas’ [H2] Innovation Experience microgrid demonstration project has been awarded twice in the span of two weeks, with the U.S. Green Building Council - Los Angeles (USGBC-LA) and the SEAL Awards honoring the nearly completed project for its innovation and sustainability.
“SoCalGas is making sustainability front and center in all that we do, and nowhere is that more apparent than our work on the [H2] Innovation Experience,” said Jawaad Malik, vice president, strategy and sustainability and chief environmental officer for SoCalGas. “The clean fuels microgrid technology at the [H2] Innovation Experience showcases how new and existing energy infrastructure can work together to deliver reliable, around-the-clock energy that also helps California reach its climate goals more quickly and more affordably.”
The [H2] Innovation Experience, which was also named a world-changing idea by Fast Company in 2021, is a soon-to-be-completed clean hydrogen microgrid demonstration project in Downey featuring clean hydrogen production and storage along with a nearly 2,000 square-foot home that can draw power from solar panels on sunny days and convert excess renewable energy into clean hydrogen. Excess renewable energy can be stored and then converted back into electricity, as needed, via an on-site hydrogen fuel cell 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. It’s being constructed to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum standards and is expected to be completed in the coming weeks.
The U.S. Green Building Council – Los Angeles recognized the project on Dec. 8 at its 12th Annual Sustainable Innovation Awards, honoring it with the Sustainable Innovation Award in the category of “Energy and Operational Carbon.” The award recognized companies’ commitments to sustainability through projects that demonstrate exemplary performance.
On Dec. 12, the SEAL Awards, which recognizes the 50 most sustainable companies in the world and the most impactful and innovative environmental initiatives, honored the H2 Innovation Experience with the SEAL Sustainable Innovation Award. This award, “recognizes innovations that represent game-changing ideas that bring us to a more sustainable future.”
The awards come on the heels of SoCalGas being awarded in October the top “Business Transformation Award” at the 2022 Responsible Business Awards, hosted by Reuters Events, where the company was recognized for having established truly transformative sustainability priorities with the potential to create impact at scale in the energy sector and beyond.
Sustainability is at the core of all we do.
In 2021, SoCalGas became the first and the largest natural gas utility in the United States to announce its aim to have net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045. Earlier this year, we announced our Sustainability Strategy, putting words into action by setting measurable clean energy and sustainability objectives. These efforts cover a broad range of goals and initiatives aimed at achieving a safe, reliable, resilient, affordable, and equitable energy transition to net zero.
To learn more about all of our sustainability efforts, visit https://www.socalgas.com/sustainability.
