Hydrogen refueling stations in California just got one step closer to reality. The Golden State awarded $18.7 million dollars on June 12 to help build a series of hydrogen refueling stations for fuel cell electric vehicles.
The state Energy Commission awarded the money in a series of five grants, ranging in size from $1.5 to $6.6 million dollars. The funds will be invested in several counties around the state to upgrade or build new hydrogen refueling plants through the Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program run by the commission.
In 2012, California governor Jerry Brown signed an executive order sending California down the road to having 1.5 million zero-emission vehicles on the streets by 2025. The state has identified fuel cell private cars and public transportation, which run on hydrogen, as technologies which could help the state reach that goal in the next 12 years. There are slightly more than a dozen hydrogen-powered buses on California streets today.
One of the obstacles to the wide-scale adoption of hydrogen-powered vehicles is building the infrastructure needed to refuel the vehicles while they are on the road. There are currently only nine hydrogen refueling plants around the Golden State, with 12 more under construction.
"Unlike electric, where you have the ability to plug in at home, with hydrogen, you need that public infrastructure. These technologies are not going to take over the market overnight. There needs to be a steady level of investment," Don Anair, research director of the Union of Concerned Scientists' Clean Vehicles Program, said.
Honda and Mercedes-Benz have both been working on cars which will help California reach the goals set by Governor Brown. These new grants are a step to making that number of hydrogen-powered automobiles on the road feasible.
A report developed by the California Fuel Cell Partnership in August, 2012, determined that California would require a total 68 hydrogen fueling centers in the next few years to supply the demand for hydrogen the new cars will create. These stations, according to the report, should be clustered around San Francisco's South Bay, West Los Angeles, Orange County, Torrance and Berkeley.
The state has a record of supporting a wide range of environmental efforts aimed at encouraging green energy.
"California has a portfolio approach to investing in renewable and alternative fuel vehicles," Janea Scott, Energy Commissioner, said.
