Avina Clean Hydrogen Inc. (Short Hills, N.J.) held a groundbreaking ceremony for it’s landmark green hydrogen project in the City of Vernon, just 10 miles from the Port of Long Beach in Southern California.
The project marks a major milestone in the company’s mission to decarbonize heavy-duty transport and support California’s clean energy goals.
This state-of-the-art facility is designed to produce up to 4 metric tons per day (MTPD) of compressed green hydrogen through electrolysis, using clean electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. Once operational, it will be among the largest integrated electrolytic hydrogen production and refueling sites globally, supplying critical infrastructure to replace diesel trucking miles with hydrogen miles. The facility is expected to eliminate approximately 130,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions annually, significantly improving air quality in the local communities.
“Our facility’s strategic location in Southern California allows us to serve critical transportation corridors and urban markets, helping meet the growing demand for clean hydrogen across the region,” said Vishal Shah, Founder, and CEO of Avina Clean Hydrogen.
The City of Vernon is excited to help kick off the groundbreaking of Avina’s Clean Hydrogen Project. We’re pleased that we could support Avina’s team through our Public Works’ streamlined permitting process and ensuring that our locally owned utility — VPU, is able to provide high quality, reliable power to support this Project. We believe that Avina will be at the forefront of bringing this clean technology into mass production to meet regional needs throughout California,” said Vernon Mayor Judith Merlo.
“We are thrilled to partner with Avina Clean Hydrogen to develop a reliable hydrogen generation and distribution facility in Southern California. This collaboration is a testament to our commitment to drive innovation in clean energy solutions, creating a more sustainable future for mobility customers,” said Dan McGill, President and Founder, FASTECH.
“The growth of the hydrogen industry in California continues, as evidenced by this announcement of Avina’s hydrogen production facility. This facility will serve the expanding end uses of hydrogen in California, such as zero emission trucks and buses and distributed power generation to decarbonize and improve air quality in our local communities. We are pleased to support Avina and organizations in these critical market sectors as members of the California Hydrogen Business Council”, added Katrina Fritz, CEO of California Hydrogen Business Council.
With key environmental permits in place, the project is on schedule to commence construction and start commercial operations from July 2025.