GFO-21-501 Pre-Application Workshop

Hydrogen Fuel Cell Truck and Bus Technology Integration and Demonstration

Energy Research and Development Division

Peter Chen and Mei ChangAugust 3, 2021California Energy Commission

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Agenda

Time Item1:00 pm Welcome and Introduction1:05 pm Solicitation Background and Overview

• Natural Gas Research Program• Purpose of Solicitation• Project Requirements• Available Funding

1:35 pm Application Requirements• Attachments• Submission Process

2:00 pm Q&As3:00 pm Adjourn 2

Housekeeping

• Muting on Zoom• Questions• Zoom recording• Updates on solicitation documents including this presentation

will be posted at the Grant Funding Opportunity’s webpage: https://www.energy.ca.gov/solicitations/2021-07/gfo-21-501-hydrogen-fuel-cell-truck-and-bus-technology-integration-and

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Commitment to Diversity

CEC adopted a resolution strengthening its commitment to diversity in our funding programs. CEC continues to encourage disadvantaged and underrepresented businesses and communities to engage in and benefit from our many programs.To meet this commitment, CEC staff conducts outreach efforts and activities to:• Engage with disadvantaged and underrepresented groups throughout the

state.• Notify potential new applicants about the Energy Commission’s funding

opportunities.• Assist applicants in understanding how to apply for funding from the Energy

Commission’s programs.• Survey participants to measure progress in diversity outreach efforts.

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We Want to Hear From You!

1 Minute SurveyThe information supplied will be used for public reporting purposes to display anonymous overall attendance of diverse groups.• Please use this link:

https://forms.office.com/g/cmKbepbFWy

Thanks!

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Connect With Us

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FIND A PARTNERAnnounce your interest in this funding opportunity and message other interested parties to find potential partners.

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Natural Gas R&D Program Background

• The Natural Gas R&D Program funds public interest research to support the transition to clean energy, greater reliability, lower costs, and increased safety for Californians.

• Annual budget of $24M funded by a natural gas investor-owned utility (NG IOU) ratepayer surcharge.

• Directed towards developing science or technology:– Not adequately addressed by competitive or regulated entities.– Benefits accrue to California citizens and NG IOU ratepayers.

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Policy Drivers

• SB 32: reduce GHG emissions to 40% below 1990 levels by 2030.

• Executive Order B-55-18: achieve economy-wide carbon neutrality by 2045.

• Executive Order N-79-20: transition to 100% zero-emission medium- and heavy-duty vehicles by 2045 for all operations where feasible.

• Innovative Clean Transit: transit agency requirement to transition to a 100% zero-emission bus fleet.

• Advanced Clean Trucks: manufacturer requirement to sell zero-emission trucks as an increasing percentage of annual California sales.

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Data from CARB’s 2020 Mobile Source Strategy

Background

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Variety in California Class 7-8 Tractor Annual Mileage

Source: CARB Zero-Emission Fleet Rule Workshop, February 2020.

• HDVs with high mileage days or other challenging duty cycles can be difficult to address with current ZEV technology.

• Hydrogen fuel cells (HFC) can complement batteries to meet ZEV goals.• Few commercially available HFC truck and bus models today.

Source: Port of Los Angeles

Diesel Drayage Truck Routes

Purpose of Solicitation

• Fund research, development, and demonstration projects to improve the cost effectiveness and performance of HFC heavy-duty trucks and buses with challenging duty cycles. – Long routes– Limited refueling opportunities– High payload weight capacity needs

• Reduce total cost of ownership and inform end users of real-world operational characteristics.

• Accelerate development of production-intent HFC trucks and buses to achieve broader market adoption.

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Project Requirements

• Develop a heavy-duty HFC truck or bus with equivalent operational performance of a traditional combustion engine-powered vehicle and compete as a one-to-one replacement.

• Incorporate learnings from initial prototype demonstrations and component-level advancements.

• Develop engineering advancements, innovate on vehicle integration strategies, and evaluate key design tradeoffs to improve performance, efficiency, durability, and operating costs.

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Content to Describe in the Project Narrative (Attachment 3)

• Specify a target heavy-duty truck or bus application (e.g., over-the-road bus, regional haul, vocational truck) with challenging duty cycle requirements.– Describe baseline (ICE) and target (HFC) specifications needed to compete

as a one-to-one replacement.– Justify the vehicle choice based on duty cycle and potential market

demand.• Describe how hydrogen refueling infrastructure will be safely accessed

for the vehicle demonstration. • Identify a vehicle manufacturer and fleet partner.• Describe how lessons learned through the project may be adapted for

other vehicle applications.14

Target Performance Metrics

• Along with any other proposed targets important for commercialization, projects must aim to achieve the target performance metrics indicated.

• Metrics should be identified and explained in the Project Performance Metrics (Attachment 11).

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Metric Truck Targets Bus Targets

Fuel cell system lifetime 25,000 hours or 10 years/ 1,000,000 miles

25,000 hours or 12 years/ 500,000 miles

Fuel economy improvement over equivalent internal combustion engine (ICE) powered vehicle, or Energy Economy Ratio (EER)

At least 1.9x At least 1.9x

Total cost of ownership reduction compared to current fuel cell vehicle technology

At least 30 percent At least 30 percent

Demonstration Requirements

• Demonstrate the improved hydrogen fuel cell truck or bus with a California fleet in representative real-world operation.

• Validate the design improvements and the vehicle’s ability to meet the specified challenging duty cycle requirements.

• At least one demonstration site must be located in a NG IOU service territory (PG&E, SDG&E, and/or SoCalGas).

• Compare total cost of ownership and performance data with equivalent ICE, battery-electric, and currently available hydrogen fuel cell vehicle technology.

• Conduct outreach with community and industry partners to share demonstration results.

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Data Collection Requirements

The Project Narrative (Attachment 3) must describe how the following data, at the minimum, will be collected and reported over a 12-month demonstration period:

• Vehicle and powertrain specifications • Vehicle operation • Vehicle performance • Fuel consumption • Fleet experience

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Eligible Infrastructure Costs

• CEC funding under this solicitation can be used for temporary hydrogen refueling infrastructure or hydrogen fuel to support the demonstration.

• CEC funding under this solicitation cannot be used for deploying permanent hydrogen refueling stations.

• Applicants are encouraged to leverage existing infrastructure, future accessible infrastructure in development, or other funding sources.

• To further infrastructure standardization efforts, projects may not include use of proprietary refueling receptacles.

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Available Funding

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• Up to $4,000,000 is available for grants awarded under this solicitation.

• Minimum CEC funding amount per project: $1,500,000.• Maximum CEC funding amount per project: $2,000,000.

Match Funding

• A minimum of 20% match funding is required.• Applications that include match funding will receive additional points

during the scoring phase based on amount of cash match and amount of match funding exceeding the minimum required.

• Match funding contributors must submit match funding commitment letters that meet the requirements of Attachment 10. Failure to do so will disqualify the match funding commitment from consideration.

• Refer to Section I.K. Match Funding in the Solicitation Manual for more details.

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Eligible Applicants

• This is an open solicitation for public and private entities.• Applicants must accept the PIER Natural Gas terms and conditions.

– Standard, UC, and DOE T&Cs available online: https://www.energy.ca.gov/funding-opportunities/funding-resources

• Applicants are required to register with the California Secretary of State and be in good standing to enter into an agreement with the Energy Commission: http://www.sos.ca.gov

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Application Requirements

Each Applicant must complete and include the following in the application:

1. Application Form (.pdf) 8. CEQA Compliance Form (.docx)

2. Executive Summary (.docx) 9. References and Work Product Form (.docx, .pdf)

3. Project Narrative (.docx) 10. Commitment and Support Letters (.pdf)

4. Project Team (.docx, .pdf) 11. Project Performance Metrics (.docx)

5. Scope of Work (.docx) 12. Applicant Declaration (.docx)

6. Project Schedule (.xlsx) 13. California Based Entity Form (.docx)

7. Budget (.xlsx)

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Project Narrative (Attachment 3)

• This is your opportunity to explain the entirety of the project. The narrative should explain:– Why is your project necessary and important to California?– What is your project approach and how will each major task be

implemented?– How will the project be completed in the term proposed?– How will the project outcomes benefit natural gas ratepayers?

• Respond to the scoring criteria described in Section IV.F. and the project requirements in Section I.C. Project Focus of the Solicitation Manual.

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Scope of Work (Attachment 5) and Project Schedule (Attachment 6)

• Tell us exactly what you are proposing to do in your project.• Identify what will be delivered to the CEC.• Be sure to include in the technical tasks:

– At least one product deliverable per task.– Address requirements in Section I.C. Project Focus.

• Be sure to include in the Project Schedule (Attachment 6):– Product deliverables that correspond with the Scope of Work.– Realistic dates on when product deliverables can be completed.

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Budget (Attachment 7)

• Identify how the Energy Commission funds and match funds be spent to complete the project.

• Subcontractors receiving $100,000 or more CEC funds must complete a separate budget form.

• Ensure that all rates provided are maximum rates for the entire project term. • Travel Restrictions:

– CEC funds should be limited to lodging and any form of transportation (e.g., airfare, rental car, public transit, parking, mileage).

– If an applicant plans to travel to conferences, including registration fees, they must use match funds.

– CEC funds cannot be used for out-of-state travel to certain states pursuant to AB 1887 (2016). See the Attorney General’s website: https://oag.ca.gov/ab1887

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Commitment and Support Letter Forms (Attachment 10)

• Follow guidelines provided for letters.– Commitment letters are required for entities or individuals that are

committing match funding, testing/demonstration sites, including the Prime applicant.

– Support letters describe a project stakeholder’s interest or involvement in the project.

• All applicants must submit at least one support letter.• Match funding must be supported by a match fund commitment letter. • Any project partners that will make contributions to the project (other than

match and sites) must submit a commitment letter.• Limit to two pages per letter, excluding the cover page.

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How Applications will be Evaluated

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Stage One: Application Screening

Pass “Past Performance” Criterion (Pass/Fail)

Pass “Screening Criteria”Pass/Fail Stage Two: Application Scoring

Final Score100 Maximum Points

Pass Criteria 1 – 7Minimum 70 out of 100 (70%)

Pass Criteria 1 – 4Minimum 52.5 out of 75 (70%)

Stage One: Application Screening

Screening Process1. Applications are reviewed per

admin screening criteria in Section IV.E.

2. Screening criteria are evaluated on a pass/fail basis.

3. Applicants must pass Past Performance criterion.

4. Applicants must pass all screening criteria, or the application will be disqualified.

Some Reasons for DisqualificationApplication is not submitted by

the specified due date and time in the required manner.

Application does not include a site commitment letter for each demonstration site.

Application contains confidential material.

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Stage Two: Application Scoring

• Evaluation Committee applies the scoring scale to the scoring criteria.

• Applications must obtain a minimum passing score of 52.5 points for Criteria 1-4 in order to continue evaluation.

• Applications must obtain a minimum passing score of 70 points for Criteria 1-7 in order to be considered for funding.

• Review Section IV.F. of the manual and ensure the application provides a clear and complete response to each scoring criteria.

Scoring Criteria Maximum Points

1. Technical Merit and Need 15

2. Technical Approach 25

3. Impacts and Benefits for CA IOU Ratepayers

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4. Team Qualifications 15

5. Budget and Cost-Effectiveness 10

6. Funds Spent in CA 10

7. Ratio of Direct Labor Costs to Loaded Labor Costs

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Total 100

Minimum Points to Pass 70

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Stage Two: Application Scoring –Preference Points

• Passing applications (score of 70 or more from Criteria 1-7) will be considered for preference points.

• Criteria for preference points include:

• California Based Entities• Match Funds• Disadvantaged & Low-Income

Communities

Scoring Criteria Maximum Points

8. California Based Entities (CBE) Preference Points

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9. Match Funds 1010. Disadvantaged & Low-Income Communities

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Total Available Preference Points 20

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Match Funding Preference Points

• Applications may receive up to 10 additional preference points based on the criteria below:– Up to 5 points will be awarded based on the cash contributions

divided by the total match (cash + in-kind) using the Match Scoring Table in the Scoring Criteria.

– Up to 5 points may be awarded to applications that exceed the minimum match requirements using the Exceeds Minimum Match Scoring table.

– Refer to Section IV.F in the Solicitation Manual for more details on the match funding scoring criteria.

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Disadvantaged & Low-Income Communities Preference Points

• Up to 5 additional preference points available for projects that benefit disadvantaged or low-income communities:– Identify economic impacts (e.g., job creation, economic development) and

increased access to clean energy technologies.– Include letters of support from community-based organizations, environmental

justice organizations, or other partners speaking to the project’s benefits.

• Disadvantaged Communities are defined as the top 25% highest scoring census tracts in CalEnviroScreen 3.0 or later versions.

• Low-Income Communities are defined as communities within census tracts with median household incomes at or below 80% of the statewide median income, or at or below the threshold designated as low-income by the California Department of Housing and Community Development. – Use CARB Priority Population Maps to identify low-income communities:

https://webmaps.arb.ca.gov/PriorityPopulations/ 32

Application Submission Requirements

• Submit your application using the CEC’s Grant Solicitation System (GSS), available at: https://gss.energy.ca.gov/– First-time users must register as a new user to access system. – GSS Help: https://www.energy.ca.gov/sites/default/files/2019-

09/Grant_Solicitation_System_Help.pdf– “How to Apply” powerpoint: https://www.energy.ca.gov/sites/default/files/2019-

05/GSS_How_to_Apply.pptx• Electronic files must be in Microsoft Office Word (.doc, .docx) and Excel (.xls, .xlsx)

formats, unless originally provided in solicitation in another format. • Attachments requiring signatures (Application Form, Support/Commitment Letters,

Applicant Declaration) may be scanned and submitted in PDF format. • Electronic files submitted via e-mail will not be accepted.• Due to COVID-19, hard copies will not be accepted.

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Next Steps After Grant Award

• Notice of Proposed Award: Shows total proposed funding amounts, rank order of applicants, and the amount of each proposed award.

• Agreement Development: Proposal documents will be processed into a legal agreement.

• Failure to Execute: The CEC reserves the right to cancel the pending award if an agreement cannot be successfully executed with an applicant. (See Section IV.B)

• Project Start: Recipients may begin work on the project only after the agreement is fully executed (approved at CEC business meeting and signed by the Recipient and the CEC).

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Key Dates

Activity DateSolicitation Release July 20, 2021

Pre-Application Workshop August 3, 2021 at 1:00 pm

Deadline for Written Questions August 10, 2021 at 5:00 pm

Anticipated Distribution of Questions and Answers Week of August 23, 2021

Deadline to Submit Applications October 15, 2021 at 5:00 pm

Anticipated Notice of Proposed Award Posting December 1, 2021

Anticipated Energy Commission Business Meeting March 9, 2022

Anticipated Agreement Start Date April 1, 2022

Anticipated Agreement End Date June 30, 2025

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Questions and Answers

• Please enter your question in the Questions and Answer window or raise your hand and you will be called on to unmute yourself:– For phone, use *9 to raise hand and *6 to mute/unmute

• Please introduce yourself by stating your name and affiliation.• Keep questions under 3 minutes to allow time for others.• Please follow up with your questions in writing.• Official response will be given in writing and posted on the GFO

webpage. https://www.energy.ca.gov/solicitations/2021-07/gfo-21-501-hydrogen-fuel-cell-truck-and-bus-technology-integration-and

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Additional Questions

Please send all questions related to GFO-21-501 to:

Angela HockadayCommission Agreement Officer

1516 Ninth Street, MS-18Sacramento, CA 95814

(916) 931-5973Angela.Hockaday@energy.ca.gov

Deadline to submit questions:Friday, August 10 at 5:00 PM

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