CARB grants $6.8 million for four hydrogen refueling stations
Click above for a gallery of the FCX Clarity
The California Air Resources Board will give four groups/organizations - Mebtahi Station Services, the San Francisco Airport, Shell Hydrogen and UCLA - $1.7 million each to build hydrogen refueling stations for fuel cell vehicles in the Los Angeles and San Francisco areas. The four stations will be open to the public and will "double the amount of hydrogen available to the public." Not a bad deal for $6.8 million, huh? CARB's pro-hydrogen chairman, Mary Nichols, said in a statement that, "Hydrogen is one of the many fuels in California's future," and that, "we need to cultivate the industry's early growth." In total, the four stations will provide up to 460 kilograms of hydrogen each day (it takes about 4-5 kilos to refuel a hydrogen fuel cell car). Details on the locations - some at existing gasoline stations, some not - are available after the jump.
Late last month, the California Fuel Cell Partnership released a "vision document" that talked about building 46 retail hydrogen fueling stations in California at a cost of about $180 million over four years.
Gallery: Kristen Davis with the Hydrogen 7
[Source: CARB]
PRESS RELEASE:
California Air Resources Board award of $6.8 million will assist construction of four hydrogen stations
Stations will be open to the public and provide power for fuel-cell vehicles in LA and SF areas
SACRAMENTO: The California Air Resources Board announced today that it has awarded Mebtahi Station Services, San Francisco Airport, Shell Hydrogen and UCLA $1.7 million each to supplement their construction of hydrogen refueling stations doubling the amount of hydrogen available to the public.
The grants, provided by the California legislature and distributed by the ARB through a competitive bid process, are aimed at increasing the use of alternative fuels. The new stations will serve the growing number of fuel-cell vehicles on the road in the Los Angeles and the San Francisco areas and will double the amount of hydrogen available to the public.
"Hydrogen is one of the many fuels in California's future," said ARB Chairman Mary Nichols, "but we need to cultivate the industry's early growth. This grant money will nurture a burgeoning technology that will provide jobs, invigorate our economy, and provide the state with clean power."
Mebtahi Station Services will use the funds to add hydrogen fuel to their existing Chevron Station near the corner of Western Avenue and Pacific Coast Highway in Harbor City. In a partnership with Capital Investment Group, Air Products and Chemicals, Inc., and General Physics, Mebtahi will provide up to 100 kilograms of hydrogen per day to vehicles in a publicly familiar retail setting.
The San Francisco Airport will build a hydrogen refueling facility at the airport's Millbrae Avenue exit on Highway 101. This station will dispense 120 kilograms per day and fuel passenger cars and busses operated by transit agencies throughout the greater San Francisco Bay Area.
Shell Hydrogen will also add hydrogen to an existing retail gasoline station at 1600 Jamboree Road in Newport Beach. The station will produce up to 100 kilograms per day of hydrogen on site through a natural gas steam-reformation system.
UCLA, in a partnership with Air Products, General Physics and South Coast Air Quality Management District, plans to build a hydrogen fueling station at its transit facility at the corner of Veteran and Kinross Avenues in Westwood. This publicly available facility will produce hydrogen on site and will provide 140 kilograms per day.
The average refueling amount for a fuel-cell vehicle is about four to five kilos.
California is pursuing a transition to clean energy and energy diversity by promoting efforts by automobile manufacturers and energy companies to employ hydrogen as a power source for vehicles and electricity production.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Tyler 1:10PM (4/08/2009)
Might want to change the title to "Million"... you had me shocked for a second.
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polo 6:02PM (4/08/2009)
Not only is this wasteful, its reckless.
I wouldn't want a hydrogen refueling station within a mile of my house or driving route unless they publicly detail HOW they are keeping it secure. The costs to PROPERLY transport and store hydrogen is huge, much more than any profit the stations could hope to take in. Assuming the stations were used at full capacity (they won't) they would still lose $3,000 to $6,000 per day....there would be serious incentive to cut corners with things like carbon-fiber storage (which isn't crash resistent) instead of steel-reinforced 5,000psi storage which would take up 10 times the size. The other storage methods are just as expensive and have their own dangers. I'd give it about 3 years before one of these things levels a city block...if they aren't shut down by then. There is no way these stations can be safe unless they spending upwards of $10million, knowing that they'll be losing over a million per year (at a minimum).
http://www.thenewatlantis.com/publications/the-hydrogen-hoax
Dude 1:11PM (4/08/2009)
You just gave me a heart attack.
Million, not billion, see your headline.
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Carney 3:25PM (4/08/2009)
Me too!
Sebastian 5:35PM (4/08/2009)
Sorry everyone. Auto show days don't play nice with my brain sometimes. Title has been changed
Tim 1:18PM (4/08/2009)
These days after watching congress spend $Trillions, $Billions don't sound that bad so what's a few $Million between comrades?
After all, it's JUST fiat debt paper currency based on nothing but faith and credit...
(That prostitute "Faith" left town after she gave A.I.D.S to that deadbeat "Credit".)
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Chris 1:43PM (4/08/2009)
Its been pretty clear to me that CARB was captured by the OIL and AUTO industries and this latest move is just the latest evidence.
Hydrogen requires more energy to produce than it delivers. It tends to leak. And you can't fill it up in your home. These stations are going to be very expensive to produce.
Why is Hydrogen being pushed : Big Oil wants to sell you Hydrogen, which will only become economical viable when they drill the last bit of oil and have depreciated their legacy capital expenditures.
Honda HCX clarity costs a million to build.
Makes the Telsa Roadster / Model S bargains at $120K, $65K
Build electrical power stations, not Hydrogen.
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Mike!!ekiM 2:19PM (4/08/2009)
Agreed. Why isn't this idea Dead yet. No sane company would invest in this solution. "Hidden Kickbacks"?
Yanquetino 1:48PM (4/08/2009)
You have got to be kidding me. What a complete waste of money. What for? To fuel a handful of celebrity-leased Honda Clarities that currently cost $2 million each to build (http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-neil13-2009feb13,0,5876175.story)? That have a range 30 miles less that a Tesla Model S? That cost four times as much to refuel? Yet are 1/4th as energy efficient? What's the advantage? Ah, yes... they can fill up one-half hour faster (meh) than the Model S --as long as you don't try driving them anywhere beyond the areas of those few hydrogen stations. And, of course, someone gets to SELL consumers the hydrogen, rather than allowing them to get their transportation energy from solar panels on their roofs for free.
Evidently Dan Sperling's position on CARB is as solid as ever. Any bets that, in exchange for pushing through this program at the taxpayers expense, he just got more grant money from sponsors ConocoPhillips, Shell, ExxonMobil, Chevron, and British Petroleum for his "Hydrogen Pathways Program" at UC Davis? Hmmm. "Insider trading," anyone?
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jharlan 1:55PM (4/08/2009)
Wake up, CARB! HFCVs are unavailable, unproduceable at a price anyone can afford, and we won't accept them! That is our taxpayer money you are so generous with, an I guess you didn't know we expect you spend it on technologies that have a chance of being utilized this century.
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jharlan 2:00PM (4/08/2009)
Growing # of HFCVs in the SF-LA areas? Just how many of them are there, CARB? Come on, How many. How many taxpayer dollars are you spending for each HFCV?
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Chris M 4:53PM (4/08/2009)
They said it "doubles the number available to the public", so there are currently 4 available to the public - 3 in LA, 1 in Sacramento. There are a few others that are restricted to research groups and fleet operations only, not open to the public. However, considering that there are only 250 H2 vehicles in the state, with about half of them leased to the public, those 4 stations don't get that much use, averaging 5 a day.
Odd thing is, there are only 2 E85 stations in the state, yet there are a lot more flex fuel vehicles than there are H2 vehicles. Instead of wasting money the State of California doesn't have on H2 stations that won't be used much, CARB could instead subsidize the installation of dozens of E85 pumps and the installation of hundreds of EV charging outlets, benefitting thousands, for a fraction of this cost.
But no, CARB won't go for sensible solutions, they must promote the H2 agenda for the oil companies. Note that Shell is one of the beneficiaries of this largess.
harlanx6 6:36PM (4/08/2009)
I totally agree.
Mike!!ekiM 2:26PM (4/08/2009)
California should FIRE the members of the ARB.
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Lad 2:30PM (4/08/2009)
Where's the Governor in all this? And, are his advisers asleep or are we looking at the Sacramento version of "Pay to Play?" How can California make terrible money decisions like this in the middle of a record deficit. How can they spend money like this when teachers, construction workers, and all other sections of the work force are facing layoffs and job losses? CARB is not meeting their charter to work for the betterment of the people of the state. It seems they are still part of the corporate/politician/lobbyist culture that has corrupted California state government for years. The governor and legislature should start working for the people and not big business and stop this wasteful spending. Hydrogen will not benefit us any time soon if ever!
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paulwesterberg 2:37PM (4/08/2009)
The governing board is made up of eleven members appointed by the state's governor.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Air_Resources_Board
So its not so surprising to find this shed filled with tools.
About 100 vehicles per day can be fueled(max), if each car fuels once per week that is 700 vehicles max. 6.8 million / 700 = almost $10,000 per vehicle subsidy for the fueling stations.
How much does the hydrogen cost per kilo?! At $13/kg so to fill the fcx clarity tank costs about $53. The fcx clarity gets about 70 miles per kilo so fuel would cost about $200/month + $600/month for the lease.
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Chris M 2:56AM (4/09/2009)
Even worse, it's unlikely that there would be 700 vehicles for each station, considering the total number statewide is only 250. Even if we assumed a few more added by the time the stations were built, bringing the total up to 300, that leads to a subsidy per vehicle of $22,667.
With 300 vehicles spread over 8 stations, only 37.5 vehicles per station, they are not going to be very busy at all. Hmm, how long will it be before the H2 station owners request an operating subsidy to keep them open?
Tim 2:47PM (4/08/2009)
Sebastian hits the wordwide stage on the BBC News:
Here's the video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUTmy1WB2NU
Good job!
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Lad 2:47PM (4/08/2009)
I only have to ask one question for you to get the Big Oil tie-in here: "How do they generate the Hydrogen?" And the answer is: " They generate the hydrogen by using gobs of heat energy to reform the hydrogen from fossil fuels, oil, natural gas, and coal. So in effect, they pollute the air with use huge amounts of energy so they can run an inefficient expensive car that produces water at the exhaust. Does this make sense? Not to me!
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Chris M 5:42PM (4/08/2009)
The article mentioned that one location was at a Chevron station, and that the Shell location would be using steam reforming of natural gas to produce the H2. No mention of "electrolysis", I'd doubt any of these planned stations would use that more expensive method. Considering the energy losses inherent in steam reforming, a CNG fueled car would be as efficient and almost as clean, at a fraction of the cost.
Ironically, some of the H2 promoters like to pretend that H2 would somehow "hurt" the oil companies, conveniently ignoring the fact that the oil companies are the main promoters of H2, and the main beneficiaries of government H2 promotional subsidies.