Raven SR announced the unanimous approval of its California Environmental Quality Act permit by the Richmond City Council on May 16 for Raven SR's first organic waste-to-H₂ bioenergy project, which will be in Richmond, California. This permit marks a significant step in approving the world's first Steam/CO₂ Reforming H₂ production facility using diverted waste as a feedstock.

"We are honored that the City of Richmond unanimously approved our waste-to-H₂ facility, setting the stage for the community to be a leader in the global H₂ transition," said Matt Murdock, CEO of Raven SR. "By diverting organic waste from Republic Services' closed West Contra Costa Sanitary Landfill, this facility will produce clean H₂ and reduce both greenhouse gases and cumulative cancer and non-cancer risks in the community. Moreover, the project will economically benefit the Richmond community by supplying local gas stations with clean, zero-carbon H₂ fuel for fuel cell vehicles and creating new green jobs, including 100-150 construction positions."

"The City of Richmond is excited to begin this journey into the future of green technology, a green economy, a green workforce, and a greener world," said City of Richmond Mayor Eduardo Martinez. "The Raven SR project will contribute to the reduction of waste and greenhouse emissions and will employ residents. The message that we are sending today is, Richmond is serious about addressing climate change and serious about providing solutions and alternatives to dirty jobs."

The project is expected to divert up to 99 wet tons of green and food waste per day from Republic Services' WCCSL into Raven SR's non-combustion Steam/CO₂ Reforming process, producing up to 2,400 metric tpy of renewable H₂. Diversion of the organic waste will help fulfill California's SB 1383 mandates and will potentially avoid up to 7,200 metric tpy of CO₂ emissions from the landfill. The project is expected to produce at least 60% of its own electricity by using methane from the landfill in new state-of-the-art electric generators, further reducing both the current air emissions and the need for grid power for its non-combustion process.

"Raven SR is poised to make a significant impact in reducing short-lived climate pollutants, the most damaging climate pollutants and the most urgent climate solution," said Julia Levin, Executive Director of the Bioenergy Association of California. "Cutting these climate super pollutants benefits the climate right away and buys us time until fossil fuel reductions, which take decades to begin to benefit the climate, begin to take effect. Reducing methane and black carbon also provide immediate benefits to public health since these are powerful air pollutants as well."

The Raven SR Richmond project is in the final stages of obtaining a permit from the Bay Area Air Quality Management Department, which previously approved its pilot facility. Upon receiving authority to construct, the company plans to break ground this summer, with full commercial operations beginning in Q1 2024.

Offtake agreements for the H₂ supply are in place with several companies, including project equity investors Hyzon Motors and Chevron New Energies, that plan to market the H₂ in Bay Area and Northern California fueling stations, enabling the energy transition to zero-emission vehicles. Hyzon, a global supplier of fuel cell electric commercial vehicles, plans to provide refueling for H₂ fuel cell trucks at a H₂ hub in Richmond.