Each hub will undergo a National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) assessment to evaluate potential impacts on the human environment.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is preparing an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to assess the potential environmental impacts for the proposed action of providing financial assistance to the Alliance for Renewable Clean Hydrogen Energy Systems (also referred to as ARCHES) to facilitate the design, construction, operation and maintenance of the California Hydrogen Hub in the state of California.

The California Hydrogen Hub is proposed to consist of a suite of demonstration projects involving clean hydrogen production, transportation, and end uses located within California. ARCHES is the primary funding recipient and lead California Hydrogen Hub manager.

As currently structured, the California Hydrogen Hub encompasses approximately 35 projects including clean hydrogen production facilities that could produce 450-500 metric tonnes per day of clean hydrogen from renewable electricity and biogenic sources, connective infrastructure including refueling stations and pipelines, and a range of end uses including fuel-cell electric trucks, fuel-cell electric buses, a marine vessel, cargo handling equipment, power generation via turbines, and stationary fuel cells.

DOE will be the lead federal agency in the preparation of the EIS.

What’s New

December 2024 - Pursuant to the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the DOE has determined that an EIS is required to inform a decision on whether to provide federal funding to ARCHES in support of portions of the California Hydrogen Hub. DOE welcomes your input on the proposed scope of the EIS on or before March 3, 2025.

Project Schedule

Milestone	Anticipated Date
Start date	December 11, 2024
Publication of NOI	December 18, 2024
Virtual public scoping meeting	January 28, 2025
In-person public scoping meetings	February 2025
End of scoping Period	March 3, 2025
Analyze scoping comments and prepare EIS	March 2025 – October 2025
Issuance of Draft EIS	October 2025
Public comment period for Draft EIS	October 2025 – November 2025
Issuance of Final EIS	April 2026
Issuance of Record of Decision	May 2026

Public Comment Opportunities

Attend Public Scoping Meetings

As part of the NEPA scoping process and to provide an opportunity to gather information necessary to prepare an EIS, DOE will hold one virtual public scoping meeting at the following date and time (pacific time):

Tuesday, January 28, 2025 from 4:30 – 7:30 p.m. Pacific Time.
Register for this meeting at: https://tinyurl.com/DOECAH2Hub

Additionally, DOE will hold three in-person public scoping meetings. Dates, times, and locations are to be determined and will be shared on this web page no less than 15 days before the meetings.

In addition, DOE will have an open virtual public meeting space available for the public to view. This public meeting space will open on Monday January 20th, 2025, at ocedarcheseis.com and stay open through the duration of the scoping period. All meetings are open to the public and free to attend.

Provide Written Scoping Comments

DOE welcomes written comments on the scope of the EIS until March 3, 2025. Comments will be accepted and considered at any time during the EIS process. However, commenters should be aware that their comments should be timely for them to be fully considered.

To provide written comments through the www.regulations.gov web portal:

Navigate to www.regulations.gov, search for Docket No. DOE-HQ-2024-0087, and follow the instructions for submitting comments.

To provide comments by mail or hand delivery service, please address your comments to:

DOE/EIS-0570

ATTN: Rosa Esquivel

Jacobs

2600 Michelson Drive, Suite 500

Irvine, CA 92612-6506

Additional Information

Learn more about DOE's Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs Program

Additional project information is also available at ARCHESH2.org and ocedarcheseis.com

For further information about the EIS email: OCED_ARCHES_EIS@hq.doe.gov

Germany: VIK Association of the Industrial Energy and Power Industry eV on the Draft of the National Hydrogen Strategy