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 - 
https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1655579/Lancaster_CA_Mayor_R_Rex_Parris.jpg 
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