Downey to house nation’s first H2 hydrogen home

Southern California Gas Co. has kicked off the assembly of its H2 Hydrogen Home in Downey, the first of its kind in the United States that will show how carbon-free gas made from renewable electricity can be used to fuel clean energy systems of the future. (Photos by Alex Dominguez)

DOWNEY – Southern California Gas Company along with local officials celebrated the start of assembly of its H2 Hydrogen home, a state-of-the-art clean energy project that is the first of its kind in the country.

According to the Gas Company, the modular, prefabricated home will show how carbon-free gas made from renewable electricity can be used to fuel clean energy systems of the future.

Featuring a nearly 2,000 square-foot home, solar panels, a battery, and electrolyzer to convert solar energy to hydrogen and a fuel cell to supply electricity to the home, the H2 Hydrogen home will act as a miniature microgrid, demonstrating how such an energy system could be built on a larger scale to accommodate and power residential neighborhoods and businesses.

Maryam Brown, president of SoCalGas, said that the Hydrogen home would “feel just like a regular home.”

“You interact with the appliances the same way you live your life now, and the appliances will be plug and play,” said Brown. “The only difference is – and it’s a great difference – is that the Hydrogen Home will use reliable and clean energy 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.”

The home will draw power from solar panels on sunny days and convert excess energy into clean hydrogen, which can be stored and converted back into electricity with an on-site hydrogen fuel cell when solar or batteries are unable to provide enough energy.

Councilmembers Claudia Frometa and Mario Trujillo with SoCalGas President Maryam Brown. Photo by Alex Dominguez

On hand for the presentation was Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia, who said she was excited and appreciative of SoCalGas’s goal to be carbon-neutral by 2045.

“We have a lot of tools in our tool box, but the reality is we need green hydrogen yesterday, not today, and we need to catch up,” said Garcia. “California has always been a leader…and I’m excited that with this partnership we’re going to see that leadership.”

Councilwoman Claudia M. Frometa said Downey was “a fitting place for this project.”

“Downey I called the ‘Home of the Apollo’ because this is where the Apollo command modules were built, as well as six of the space shuttles. The technological breakthroughs of those years continue to benefit our entire population,” said Frometa. “Your project is the first in the United States of its type. It will benefit countless individuals for decades to come.”

The home, which will be located behind the SoCalGas Resource Center, will act as a demonstration model only and will not have residents.