The City of Lancaster partners with Choshu Industries
Lancaster has committed to having the first all-hydrogen municipal fleet in the US.
The City of Lancaster, California, has partnered with Choshu Industries Corp. of America (CICA), a Yamaguchi, Japan-based company in R&D, semiconductors and hydrogen technology and power solutions.
The partnership will initially seek to integrate Choshu’s “SHiPS,” a containerized hydrogen production and refuelling station system, and “MizTomo,” a stationary fuel cell power system, into the City’s Green Energy Microgrid (GEM) system.
The “SHiPS” and “MizTomo” systems deployment represent the first projects of Lancaster’s partnership with Choshu. These systems can be scaled to extend the city’s hydrogen capacity to other sectors. Choshu and Lancaster will explore additional opportunities to supply hydrogen to commercial users and support the city’s fleet goal. “
Over the past decade, Lancaster attracted investment into renewable energy by attracting more than $2 billion of investment in cutting-edge green companies and technologies. Investors include BYD, which manufactures electric buses; Heliogen, which generates hydrogen from concentrated solar energy; SGH2, which gasifies wastepaper into hydrogen; and Hitachi Zosen Inova (HZI), which converts organic waste into renewable natural gas and hydrogen. The city also started its own utility company, Lancaster Choice Energy, allowing residents to choose local renewable energy at lower prices.
Lancaster Mayor R. Rex Parris said, “We are excited to partner with Choshu Industries on our GEM system, which will add a hydrogen backbone to the system’s solar and battery capabilities, all driven by Choshu’s advanced artificial intelligence.”
