Project Spotlight: Advancing Carbon-Negative Hydrogen with Hago Energetics

Hago Energetics is pioneering a new approach to clean hydrogen production by converting organic waste — such as agricultural residues, landfill gas, and wastewater treatment byproducts — into fuel cell-grade hydrogen and biochar. California is accelerating toward its 2045 carbon neutrality goals, and Hago’s technology addresses two critical challenges at once. It reduces methane emissions from waste streams and decarbonizes hard-to-abate sectors like heavy-duty transportation and industry.

To support commercialization and secure funding for a proposed hydrogen production facility in Madera, California, Hago Energetics sought independent, third-party validation of its carbon footprint. Through the U.S. Department of Energy’s EnergyWerx voucher program, the company partnered with EcoEngineers to conduct a comprehensive life-cycle analysis (LCA) using the CA‑GREET 4.0 model and the Tier 1 CI Calculator for hydrogen. The analysis evaluated multiple production and delivery scenarios, including the role of biochar soil sequestration in reducing overall carbon intensity.

The results confirmed that Hago’s hydrogen pathway can achieve strongly negative carbon intensity scores, reaching as low as ‑492 g CO₂e/MJ when biochar sequestration is included. Even without accounting for biochar, the process remained carbon negative. This third-party validation helped Hago Energetics strengthen investor discussions and secure a U.S. Department of Energy waste‑to‑fuel grant, laying a credible foundation for future scale‑up and commercialization of its carbon‑negative hydrogen technology.

Read the full case study here.