Element Resources announced on 24 January plans to construct and manage a major renewable hydrogen production facility in the City of Lancaster. 

This collaboration marks one of California's most noteworthy green hydrogen production facilities, with a total annual production of 20,000 tons of renewable hydrogen in its first phase. Positioned close to the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, the project aims to serve customers throughout the Greater Los Angeles Region. The facility will also act as one of the anchor projects in the City of Lancaster's East side Overlay, an initiative to develop a prosperous clean energy sector in the city.

"The City of Lancaster is excited to expand our partnership with Element Resources on the largest renewable green hydrogen production project in the U.S.," said R. Rex Parris, Mayor of the City of Lancaster. "Lancaster is building a robust hydrogen production capacity to enable regional decarbonization. We believe municipalities can lead the fight against climate change from the bottom up by unleashing businesses' innovative capacities by removing barriers to market."

Element Resources' CEO, Steve Meheen, stated, "We are pleased to be working with the City of Lancaster. They have a pro-active approach to energy transition that sets the stage for early operations of the Lancaster Clean Energy Center, which is strategically located with access to highway and rail transportation to key southern California markets. The opportunity with the City of Lancaster is nothing less than a World Class Green Energy Center serving the Western United States and perhaps reaching into Asian Markets as well; the welcome, cooperation, and collaboration from the City of Lancaster is outstanding."

With an estimated commercial launch in early 2025, Element plans to use solar-generated electricity to power theirelectrolyzers, thus creating renewable and emission-free hydrogen. This initiative is meant to meet the demand for clean fuel sources and energy in the manufacturing sector. Moreover, it is expected to create a total of 286 job opportunities;250 of which are during the construction phase and 36 are permanent positions.