ClearSign Technologies, SoCalGas Collaborate for Hydrogen Burner Project

ClearSign Technologies Corporation (ClearSign) has announced a collaboration with and funding commitment from Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) for its 100% hydrogen ultra-low NOx burner project.

The financial support pledged by SoCalGas comes in addition to the SBIR program Phase 2 Award for $1.6 million granted by the DOE. Funding will be allocated toward the project to decarbonize hard-to-electrify industries as it enters the commercialization phase. SoCalGas has pledged $500,000 for the introduction and field demonstration of hydrogen-capable ClearSign Core burners in Southern California.

"We are pleased to receive this support from the team at SoCalGas,” said Jim Deller, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of ClearSign. “We believe our collaboration with SoCalGas provides not just additional financial support but also their engagement with us in moving the energy transition forward in Southern California and making our ClearSign Core technologies part of the technical portfolio available to all the industries that SoCalGas serves.”

ClearSign aims to develop ultra-low NOx hydrogen burner technology to enable the adoption of hydrogen fuel for industrial heating, offsetting emissions of both CO₂ and NOx. Decarbonization of industrial combustion processes is held back by the lack of burners capable of burning pure hydrogen and minimizing NOx emissions.

Phase 1 of the project featured the deployment of a prototype burner that integrated hydrogen and hydrogen blending while limiting NOx to below 5 ppm. Phase 2 will upscale the size of the burner from 2 MMBtu/hr up to 8 MMBtu/hr to be deployed in commercial industrial settings over the next two years.

SoCalGas, in an effort to decarbonize the state’s industries, is proposing the Angeles Link green hydrogen pipeline that would deliver clean, reliable, renewable energy to the Los Angeles region. The project is designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from electric generation, industrial processes, heavy-duty trucks, and additional hard-to-electrify sectors of Southern California’s economy.

California is enlisting the help of SoCalGas to develop a standard for hydrogen blending to integrate clean fuels at scale in the state’s natural gas system. The development of a hydrogen standard will additionally lower the cost of hydrogen by scaling up and establishing a market for the gas.

"This project offers a look at how hydrogen can play a vital role in helping industries in California start down the path to net zero through technology that allows the transition to clean fuels," said Neil Navin, SoCalGas Chief Clean Fuels Officer. "Investments in clean fuel technologies like this will be key in providing hard-to-decarbonize industries the means to reach net zero quickly and affordably."