California’s North County Transit District (NCTD) announced that the California Energy Commission (CEC) has awarded the agency a $4 million grant to construct a hydrogen fueling station at its West Division BREEZE Facility in Oceanside.

Once constructed, this station will have the capacity to support up to 50 hydrogen fuel-cell electric buses, bringing the agency closer toward achieving its goal of transitioning its entire fleet to zero-emission buses by 2042.

“What’s more, this new technology and infrastructure will improve overall BREEZE operations by decreasing the time needed to refuel, expanding the service range, and increasing the fuel economy of our fleet,” said Tony Kranz, NCTD Board Chair and Encinitas Deputy Mayor.

The CEC grant advances NCTD’s transition from compressed natural gas (CNG) to zero-emissions bus operations by approximately four years, allowing the agency to rapidly scale up and leverage an initial purchase of 25 hydrogen-powered buses, set to be put into service by spring 2025. The hydrogen fueling station is expected to be complete by mid-2022.

Together, the new fueling station and buses are estimated to reduce bus service carbon dioxide output by 78,825 metric tons annually — roughly the same amount of emissions from 200 million miles driven by an average passenger car.

The entire project is funded by the CEC’s Clean Transportation Program, which invests more than $100 million annually to support innovation and accelerate the deployment of advanced transportation and fuel technologies.