A second hydrogen vehicle fueling station has opened in Florida about 10 miles northeast of Orlando - where the first opened in May. Both are part of a hydrogen demonstration project sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy.
Also involved in the Florida hydrogen filling stations: The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), Ford Motor Company, BP America, Inc., and Progress Energy Florida, a subsidiary of Progress Energy Corp. In 2004 BP and Ford chose Florida as one of three states in the nation to demonstrate pollution-free hydrogen fuel cell cars.
Ford supplied six hydrogen-powered Ford Focus cars to the Florida DEP, and BP America supplies the cars with hydrogen fuel through a grant from the state of Florida.
“BP is committed to developing cleaner fuels,” said Maria Curry-Nkansah, BP’s hydrogen business development manager. “With this station, we will continue our work to gain real-world experience in hydrogen fueling infrastructure and help build public awareness of this developing technology.”
“This program is an example of how government, energy companies and the auto industry are working collaboratively to assess the potential of hydrogen as an alternative fuel,” she said.
The Department of Energy, the Florida DEP, Ford and BP are trying to solve a classic chicken-and-egg business problem. The technology of hydrogen-powered cars is improving fast, but the mass market won’t want to buy such vehicles if they are difficult to refuel. But fuel marketers aren’t going to want to sink money into building a network of hydrogen fueling stations if only a very few people have hydrogen-powered cars.
It’s one reason Honda Motor Co. is developing an in-home hydrogen refueling station that converts natural gas to hydrogen on-demand - an approach that could leapfrog the chicken-and-egg problem.
Toyota is taking another approach: It is trying to greatly extend the cruising range of its hydrogen fuel-cell powerplant before it needs refueled. The longer the range, the important it will be to have the countryside dotted with myriad hydrogen refueling stations.
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The National Hydrogen Association is excited about the opening of a new hydrogen filling station, as a distribution infrastructure is critical for the adoption of hydrogen cars. We congratulate BP and Ford’s collaboration to broaden the distribution system and continue the momentum building a hydrogen economy.
In addition to the recent opening in Florida, Shell opened a hydrogen fueling station in White Plains, New York. Plug Power and Honda have a joint venture to develop a Home Energy Station that will serve as a both a refueling system while providing heat and cooling for a home. This builds upon of a series of collaborations between auto-manufacturers and energy companies which was developed through the Department of Energy in 2004 through the Vehicle and Infrastructure Learning program to help increase collaboration and further hydrogen demonstration projects. These partnerships include:
- BP/Ford
- General Motors/Shell Oil
- Chevron-Texaco/Hyundai
- Daimler-Chrysler/BP
Thus far, 75 hydrogen fueling stations throughout the U.S are currently in operation or development. The NHA offers a complete list of hydrogen fueling stations.