Two teams were selected as winners in the first round of the H2 Twin Cities program, which launched in November 2021 and concluded in November 2022.
U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm, in collaboration with the governments of Japan and the United Kingdom, announced the winners of the 2022 H2 Twin Cities program in November 2022 as part of COP27 activities in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt.
H2 – TRANS – PACIFIC Team
The U.S. city of Lancaster, California, and Namie Town in Japan will serve as mentors to Hawai’i County, Hawaii, in this Mentor-Mentee H2 Twin Cities partnership. Mentors have pledged to share best practices and strategies with the mentee to collectively accelerate progress in hydrogen and fuel cells. Their activities will support goals of carbon neutrality by 2035 and address mutual priorities to develop a skilled workforce and to strengthen diversity, equity and inclusion, and environmental justice practices as they transition to a clean energy future. The resources and opportunities resulting from this H2 Twin Cities collaboration will focus on the impact clean hydrogen solutions can have on citizens' lives, regional infrastructure, and the environment.
Hydrogen Is Here! Team
Aberdeen, United Kingdom, and Kobe, Japan, will partner as Sibling H2 Twin Cities to promote clean hydrogen growth opportunities to maximize local air quality, climate change, and supply chain benefits, and transition from traditional natural gas and nuclear power to renewable energy. Both cities have committed to exchange knowledge and resources to better understand how clean hydrogen can benefit their transportation, ports, heat production, and electricity sectors equitably. Through their H2 Twin Cities collaboration, Aberdeen and Kobe will also facilitate joint research between universities and students in both cities to support mutual workforce development priorities.