California
bp is the largest supplier of renewable natural gas (RNG) to the California transportation sector. Our retail stations in California serve more than 640,000 customers every day.
Fast facts
- bp supports hundreds of California communities with more than 300 ARCO-branded gas stations and roughly 260 ampm convenience store franchises, along with 15 TravelCenters of America locations statewide.
- bp ventures has invested around $250 million in California-based companies in the last 10 years.
bp’s presence in California ranges from traditional convenience and mobility outlets to a variety of low carbon products, including biofuels, electric vehicle (EV) charging and solar.
Since acquiring Archaea Energy in 2022, bp is now the largest RNG producer in the US. Through our joint ventures, bp owns operating facilities in California and several other states that capture methane from waste to produce RNG or “biogas” for the US transportation sector. Produced entirely from organic waste, RNG can reduce emissions by around 70% compared with gasoline or diesel.
In 2017, bp and Clean Energy Fuels Corp. formed a 10-year partnership with bp supplying RNG to Clean Energy’s extensive California fueling network, the state’s largest RNG dispensing system.
bp pulse, bp’s EV charging business, is working to simplify electrification by providing fast, reliable charging solutions for both consumers and commercial fleets across America. With offices in Mountain View, bp pulse is working with the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System to manage its growing electric bus fleet, as well as the Anaheim Transportation Network to create California’s first all-electric bus fleet by 2025.
Our joint venture Lightsource bp has its US headquarters in San Francisco. Lightsource bp is one of the world’s leading developers and operators of utility-scale solar and battery storage assets. In November 2023, we agreed to acquire the remaining 50.03% stake, and the deal is expected to be completed in mid-2024, subject to regulatory approval.
bp’s San Diego Biosciences Center (BSC) conducts ground-breaking research and supports low carbon technology development and deployment, as well as strategic investments and partnerships with California-based institutions, all of which accelerate bp’s ambition to help it become a net zero company. Created in 2015, the staff include both scientists and engineers and focuses its research on different aspects of bp operations, including production of renewable energy, oil and natural gas and development of innovative, efficient fuels and lubricants.
In recent years, the BSC team has supported bp’s $75 million investment in California-based Fulcrum BioEnergy, which in 2021 finished building the first-ever commercial-scale plant capable of turning household garbage into low-cost, zero-carbon transportation fuels. Additionally, the BSC provides critical engineering support to our bioenergy joint venture, bp Bunge Bioenergia, which produces ethanol from sugar cane in Brazil.
The BSC also supports world-class independent research programs, including the bp International Centre for Advanced Materials (ICAM), a partnership with leading universities to study advanced materials that accelerate the transition to net zero. Under the ICAM, teams work to address a wide range of global energy challenges, including low-cost hydrogen generation, thermal management and battery degradation, while also supporting the development of advanced biofuels.