Coming nearly 23 years after its launch, the evolution to the national stage reflects the growth of hydrogen mobility in California, and the acceleration of hydrogen in the US and across the world, according to the HFCP.

The move comes in parallel with the Partnership’s initiation of a new national hydrogen mobility strategy which seeks to accelerate hydrogen production, and distribution to support heavy-duty trucking, and light-duty rollout across the US.

H2 View understands, the strategy plans to enable necessary links between ports, key commercial and urban centres, and hydrogen hubs across the country, and North America.

According to the HFCP, the strategy will leverage on earlier roadmaps and visions for hydrogen-powered vehicles, as well as national laboratory and state transportation models, while drawing on California’s policy and investment experience which built up a market for zero-emission vehicles.

Joseph Capello, Chair of the HFCP, and CEO of Iwatani Corporation of America, said, “For more than twenty years, the Partnership has brought together government and industry in constructive dialogue to further commercialisation of hydrogen mobility to achieve our common environmental and economic goals.

“The change in name further enables our members to work across the country to share information, best practices and lessons learned by all of our members.”

Bill Elrick, Executive Director of the HFCP, explained, “When the Partnership published its first roadmap outlining how California could launch the world’s first fuel cell car market, there were no retail stations or vehicles available. Many questioned if stakeholders could pull off such a feat.

“A decade later, with increasing global recognition of the importance of hydrogen in achieving our zero-emission vehicle and renewable energy objectives, we are more certain that this is a necessary and achievable objective. Hydrogen is no longer a question of ‘if’; rather, it is one of ‘who leads and where first’?”

“The Partnership, established as a national non-profit, will further enable government, private industry, universities and others to take lessons learned from successes achieved and challenges met in California and across the globe to other states and communities across the US,” said Tyson Eckerle, Senior Advisor for Clean Infrastructure and Mobility at the CA Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development and Vice-Chair of HFCP. “Hydrogen mobility will complement battery electric mobility and ensure that we build a zero-emission, resilient transportation future that includes everyone.”