LOS ANGELES, Oct. 8, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- In recognition of
National Hydrogen & Fuel Cell Day and the hydrogen-powered
Toyota Mirai, Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) and
Longo Toyota of El Monte are donating 1,008 meals to
non-profit, Meals on Wheels (October
8th and the number 1,008 are used in connection
with hydrogen because its atomic weight is 1.008). Toyota's Mirai
fuel cell electric vehicle is powered solely by hydrogen without
combustion, and its only emission is water. SoCalGas, the largest
gas distribution utility in North
America, recognizes hydrogen and fuel cells to be a critical
part of the future of clean energy in California.
"Longo Toyota is proud to partner
with SoCalGas on National Hydrogen & Fuel Cell Day to bring
awareness to hydrogen and fuel cell technology in the automotive
space," said Doug Eroh, President
and General Manager of Longo
Toyota. "As one of the original authorized Mirai
dealers in California, we have
sold over 1,300 Mirai fuel cell vehicles in addition to over 35,000
hybrid electric vehicles over the past 20 years. Longo Toyota is committed to promoting clean
energy vehicles and educating the public on the importance of
environmental sustainability."
"As California works to transition to cleaner energy, SoCalGas
knows the importance of hydrogen and fuel cells in developing the
21st century energy system, and innovations
like hydrogen-powered cars are key. Vehicles like the Mirai
are expected to play an important role as California seeks to meet the requirements of
Governor Newsom's executive order to require all new cars sold here
to be zero-emissions by 2035," said Yuri
Freedman, SoCalGas senior director of business development.
"SoCalGas is also furthering innovation and the development of
carbon-free and carbon-negative gases like renewable natural gas
and hydrogen, which demonstrates our commitment to helping
California reach its climate goals
affordably and reliably."
For the past six years, the U.S. Congress has passed resolutions
recognizing October 8 as Hydrogen and
Fuel Cell Day. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, hydrogen
and fuel cells can be used in multiple sectors such as
transportation and stationary power enabling energy security and
resiliency.
National Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Day was created by the Fuel Cell
and Hydrogen Energy Association (FCHEA) to help raise
awareness of fuel cell and hydrogen technologies. FCHEA recently
launched a report titled, Road Map to a US Hydrogen
Economy. The Road Map was developed with input from
20 major companies including Microsoft, Toyota, Air Liquide,
Cummins, SoCalGas, and other Fortune 100 firms. It outlines how
expanding the use of hydrogen would help solve a multitude of
energy, environmental and health issues and makes the case that
hydrogen will be required to dramatically decrease carbon fuels
from U.S. energy supply, especially as energy demands
increase. Further, the Road Map explains the role of hydrogen
in providing carbon-free electricity, long-term storage of
renewable power, and clean distributed power to prevent power
outages during natural disasters or grid cyberattacks.
Fuel cells are yet another technology which continues to scale
in the energy industry, combining both hydrogen and oxygen to
produce electricity. SoCalGas recently announced it begun powering
two of its largest Los
Angeles-area facilities with Bloom Energy solid oxide fuel
cells. The switch to fuel cells reduces greenhouse gas (GHG)
emissions, air pollutants and the cost of power, as well as
provides reliable electricity independent of the power grid.
SoCalGas' vision is to be the cleanest gas utility in
North America and support a 21st
century energy system that provides clean, affordable, resilient
and integrated energy. As part of its vision, the utility committed
to replacing 20 percent of natural gas supplies to its core
customers with renewable natural gas (RNG) by 2030. SoCalGas will
also make use of hydrogen, fuel cells and other energy
alternatives.
About SoCalGas
Headquartered in Los
Angeles, SoCalGas® is the largest gas distribution
utility in the United States. SoCalGas delivers
affordable, reliable, clean and increasingly renewable gas service
to 21.8 million customers across 24,000 square miles of
Central and Southern California, where more than 90 percent of
residents use natural gas for heating, hot water, cooking, drying
clothes or other uses. Gas delivered through the company's
pipelines also plays a key role in providing electricity to
Californians— about 45 percent of electric power
generated in the state comes from gas-fired power plants.
SoCalGas' vision is to be the cleanest gas utility
in North America, delivering affordable and increasingly
renewable energy to its customers. In support of that vision,
SoCalGas is committed to replacing 20 percent of its traditional
natural gas supply with renewable gas by 2030. Renewable
natural gas is made from waste created by dairy farms, landfills
and wastewater treatment plants. SoCalGas is also committed to
investing in its gas delivery infrastructure while keeping bills
affordable for our customers. From 2014 through 2018, the company
invested nearly $6.5 billion to upgrade and modernize its
pipeline system to enhance safety and reliability. SoCalGas is a
subsidiary of Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE), an energy
services holding company based in San Diego. For more
information visit socalgas.com/newsroom or connect with
SoCalGas
on Twitter (@SoCalGas), Instagram (@SoCalGas)
and Facebook.
About Longo
Toyota
Longo Toyota,
located in El Monte, CA, is the #1
Volume Toyota Dealer in the USA
since 1967. Longo Toyota employs
over 500 Team Members and is a multiple year winner of the Toyota
President's Cabinet Award, President's Award, Circle of Excellence
Award, and Board of Governor's Award. Longo
Toyota is a past winner of the Automotive News Best
Dealerships to Work For Award, and Women's Choice Award.
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SOURCE Southern California Gas Company