The alliance aims to develop a circular ecosystem of zero-emission fuel cell refuse trucks and economic low-carbon H2 supply with grant from South Coast AQMD
Houston, TX, and Temecula, CA— November 10, 2025 - Utility Global (“Utility”), a U.S.-based leader in economic industrial decarbonization through innovative hydrogen solutions, and Symbio North America Corporation (“Symbio”), part of Symbio group, Europe’s largest fuel cell technology developer and manufacturer, with HQ in France, today announced that Symbio has received approval from the South Coast Air Quality Management District (South Coast AQMD) for a Clean Fuels Fund grant to design, develop, and demonstrate a hydrogen fuel cell refuse collection vehicle in the South Coast Air Basin. Utility will manage and oversee the hydrogen fueling logistics and operations throughout the one-year demonstration.Utility and Symbio have also entered into a strategic alliance to accelerate the adoption of zero-emission, hydrogen-powered refuse trucks in North America.
This collaboration tackles two major challenges facing the refuse collection sector:
Together, Utility and Symbio will deliver an integrated, cost-effective solution that combines economic hydrogen supply with best-in-class vehicle performance and durability.
As part of the South Coast AQMD-funded demonstration, initial vehicle trials will begin in Southern California in collaboration with Waste Management, CR&R, and the Cities of Los Angeles and Riverside in the first half of 2026. The Clean Energy Institute at the University of California, Irvine will collect and analyze operational and performance data throughout the demonstration period to help validate the technology for future commercial scale-up.
“We support projects like this that combine advanced vehicle technology with innovative clean hydrogen solutions,” said Wayne Nastri, South Coast AQMD’s Executive Officer. “This strategic collaboration represents a meaningful step toward reducing emissions in communities across South Coast Air Basin.”
“This alliance is about turning waste into real, scalable decarbonization,” stated Parker Meeks, CEO of Utility. “By pairing Utility’s H2Gen technology – which produces economic, low-carbon hydrogen from water without electricity by utilizing the electrochemical energy in biogases such as landfill gas – alongside Symbio’s proven fuel cell systems, we can deliver a zero-emission hydrogen-electric refuse truck solution that matches diesel performance. This alliance embodies our mission of enabling economic industrial decarbonization through practical, cost-effective solutions.”
Jean-Baptiste Lucas, Symbio CEO, added, “Joining forces with Utility Global enables us to expand the reach of our fuel cell technology while supporting the growing need for sustainable transport solutions in the waste management sector.”
This non-exclusive Strategic Alliance is already effective while allowing both parties to pursue additional partnerships to further accelerate market adoption of hydrogen-electric refuse vehicles and associated scale up of decentralized hydrogen supply and infrastructure.
About South Coast AQMD
South Coast AQMD is the regulatory agency responsible for improving air quality for large areas of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties, including the Coachella Valley. South Coast AQMD’s mission is to clean the air and protect the health of all residents in the South Coast Air Basin through practical and innovative strategies. South Coast AQMD funds and supports programs, technologies, and incentives that accelerate the adoption of zero-emission vehicles, clean fuels, and other initiatives that advance environmental sustainability. For more information, visit www.aqmd.gov.
About Utility Global
Utility delivers practical solutions that power economic industrial decarbonization across industries such as steel, mobility, refining, chemicals, and upstream oil & gas. Our breakthrough H2Gen® technology harnesses energy from industrial off-gases and various biogases to produce high-purity (99.999% H2 capable), low-to-negative carbon intensity hydrogen from water on-site, without electricity, via our proprietary electrochemical process. H2Gen also produces a high-concentration carbon dioxide stream (over 95% CO₂ purity in refining and chemicals applications) thereby eliminating or reducing the cost of carbon capture and delivering the first practical and competitive solution to decarbonize hard-to-abate industries. H2Gen systems are modular, scalable, operationally robust and utmost flexible, integrate seamlessly into existing industrial assets with record small footprint.
Utility is a portfolio company of Ara Partners, a private equity firm specializing in industrial decarbonization investments. For more information on Utility’s solutions and services details, visit www.utilityglobal.com.
About Ara Partners
Ara Partners is a global private equity and infrastructure investment firm focused on industrial decarbonization. Founded in 2017, Ara Partners seeks to build and scale companies with significant decarbonization impact across the industrial and manufacturing, chemicals and materials, energy efficiency and green fuels, and food and agriculture sectors. The company operates from offices in Houston, Boston, Washington D.C., and Dublin. Ara Partners closed its third private equity fund in December 2023 with over $2.8 billion in capital commitments. As of June 30, 2025, Ara Partners had approximately $6.6 billion of assets under management.
For more information about Ara Partners, please visit www.arapartners.com.
About Symbio
Symbio is the leading fuel cell technology developer and manufacturer in Europe. As the partner to the pioneers of the zero-emission transition, Symbio designs and mass-produces a wide range of high-performance, competitive and durable StackPack™ hydrogen-electric fuel cell systems for mobility and stationary applications. Founded in 2010, the group now operates in Europe with its IATF 16949-certified Gigafactory located in Saint-Fons (France), and in North America with its Temecula (California, USA) facility. Symbio is an equal-share joint venture between Forvia, Michelin, and Stellantis. For more information, visit www.symbio.one and LinkedIn.
Media Contact:
Susan Cellura
Director of Marketing & Communications | scellura@utilityglobal.com