US Hybrid Corp. and First Public Hydrogen (FPH2) have announced a public-private partnership marking a major step in California's transition to hydrogen-powered transportation. US Hybrid will locate its headquarters and original equipment manufacturing (OEM) operations in the City of Lancaster, and FPH2, the nation's first public hydrogen joint powers authority, will supply the company with hydrogen. The agreement is one of FPH2's first commercial offtake partnerships and among the largest commitments to hydrogen mobility in the state to date.
The hydrogen market has grown unevenly. Vehicles have been deployed where fuel is scarce, and fuel has been produced where demand is uncertain. The partnership addresses both sides of that equation: US Hybrid manufactures the vehicles in Lancaster, and First Public Hydrogen delivers the fuel, giving fleets across California and the greater region a coordinated path to hydrogen-powered operations.
US Hybrid will manufacture hydrogen buses and trucks and convert existing fleets to fuel-cell propulsion, a repower approach that extends the service life of vehicles already in operation. The company engineers its own fuel-cell systems, power electronics, and vehicle integration, and builds to meet growing demand for cleaner heavy-duty transport as California advances its Zero-Emission Vehicle goals. The company's Lancaster headquarters will bring 1200 skilled manufacturing and engineering positions, with operations expected to begin in 2027.
"We are building more than vehicles," said Jason Lucas, president of US Hybrid. "We are building the ecosystem, from the hydrogen to the fleets that run on it, and the workforce California will need to keep it running for decades. No company does that alone. Our partnership with FPH2 is what makes it possible, and Lancaster is where it comes together."
First Public Hydrogen was created to close the gap between hydrogen producers and the cities, transit agencies, and companies ready to use hydrogen. Producers need committed customers before they build. Customers need reliable supply before they commit. FPH2 stands between the two, securing supply on behalf of its members and customers and lowering the barriers to participation on both sides. Founded by the City of Lancaster and the City of Industry, the Authority has grown to include the Cities of Montebello, Shafter, and Fresno, and membership remains open to any public agency at no cost and with no purchase obligation. FPH2 is headquartered in Lancaster and operates statewide.
For the City of Lancaster, the announcement delivers what economic development is meant to deliver: a corporate headquarters, a production line, and skilled careers. US Hybrid will work with local workforce development organisations and educational institutions to train and hire in the Antelope Valley, building its workforce in the same community where it builds its vehicles. US Hybrid's arrival extends more than a decade of Lancaster's clean energy leadership, from requiring solar on new homes to deploying hydrogen in its own municipal operations.
"This partnership is the model FPH2 was created to prove," said Lancaster Mayor and FPH2 Chairman R. Rex Parris. "US Hybrid is committing to the vehicles, the jobs, and the demand. The Authority is committing to the fuel. Lancaster is committing to the place where it all comes together: the sites, the speed, and a workforce ready to build. When a manufacturer plants its headquarters near demand with fuel identified, fleets get one answer to both halves of the zero-emission question, the vehicle and the fuel that runs it, and producers get the certainty they need to build in California."
The partnership's reach extends to the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, where US Hybrid equipment already operates. Both ports have committed to transitioning cargo-handling equipment and drayage trucks to zero emissions over the next decade, and the communities around them carry some of the nation's heaviest air pollution burdens. Lancaster-built vehicles, fuelled through FPH2, put California-built equipment behind those goals.
"Longshore workers breathe this exhaust on every shift, and our neighbourhoods in Wilmington and San Pedro live with it every day. Meeting the ports' clean air goals will take zero-emission equipment that can do the work: move the cargo, run the shift, keep the waterfront strong. Hydrogen can do that work without costing a single job on the docks," said Mark Jurisic, ILWU Local 13.
Today's announcement is a first step, and each partner is already taking the next one. US Hybrid is establishing its headquarters and production line in Lancaster. FPH2 is securing the hydrogen supply that will fuel the vehicles the company builds. And Lancaster is preparing the sites and the workforce for the industry taking root there. Together, the three see the same opportunity: to prove that when the vehicles, the fuel, and the place come together, hydrogen works, and to invite the rest of California to build on it.