California retail H2 fuel stations

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GCR:
Northern California fuell-cell drivers still left dry since June explosion
https://www.greencarreports.com/new...l-drivers-still-left-dry-since-june-explosion


. . . many of the region’s hundreds of hydrogen fuel-cell-car drivers have been left with no reasonable choice but to park their cars until fuel supplies returned. . . .

Air Products issued a statement Aug. 30, saying company “has completed all actions…preventive and corrective measures in readiness to fully resume fueling activies.”

“At this time, we are awaiting further inspections and direction from the [Santa Clara Fire Department] to be able to resume fueling and return to full operations,” the company reported. . . .


They're trucking fuel in from Socal and there are still some stations open, as I saw a Clarity FCEV driving around just yesterday, but naturally there has been a complete halt in new station openings while there's almost no fuel for the existing ones.
 
GCC:
10th retail hydrogen station opens in SF Bay area
https://www.greencarcongress.com/2019/09/20190921-h2.html


Oakland, CA. This is the first of First Element's new stations using liquid H2 delivery and storage, with a capacity of 808 kg, two dispensers with three nozzles (2 @ 700bar, 1 @ 350bar). Air Products must have gotten their production facility repaired, or else they're trucking H2 in from SoCal.
 
The petrochemical companies are the best suited for the large scale manufacture, handling and transportation of hydrogen since they have making it for at least 70 years.

How much does it cost to fuel a car with this exotic reform of natural gas?
 
Do you mean what the price of the H2 is? That varies from station to station just like gasoline, but it remains uncompetitive with gasoline for now, which is why the FCEV manufacturers subsidize three years worth. My closest True Zero station was $16.78/kg., but I haven't been by in some time so I suppose that might have changed, although the shortages of H2 from the Air Products production facility back in June are apparently still affecting the supply. The station at Toyota HQ in San Ramon was over $20/kg. when it opened, but I have no idea what it is now. Lowest price I ever saw advertised was $9.99/kg. for six Air Products-owned (IIRR) stations in SoCal, but I think they've raised them since.

The relevant page on California H2 prices from the CAFCP website states:
Hydrogen fuel prices range from $12.85 to more than $16 per kilogram (kg), but the most common price is $13.99 per kg (equivalent on a price per energy basis to $5.60 per gallon of gasoline), which translates to an operating cost of $0.21 per mile. . . .

At $3.50 per gallon gasoline, a conventional vehicle costs about $0.13 per mile to operate, while an FCEV using $8 per kg hydrogen fuel would cost about $0.12 per mile.
https://cafcp.org/content/cost-refill

As that data is based on a 2015 DoE report, i wouldn't put a lot of weight on it for current prices. The larger, 2nd gen retail stations like the Shell one in San Francisco that are now opening cost less to build per kg./H2 capacity, so they should allow lower prices.
 
GCC:
$5 million in VW funding available for hydrogen refueling stations in California
https://www.greencarcongress.com/2020/02/20200224-baaqmd.html


The Bay Area Air Quality Management District announced the availability of $5 million in Volkswagen Environmental Mitigation Trust funding for hydrogen refueling stations.

The VW funding will augment the $45.7 million that is currently available through the California Energy Commission’s grant funding opportunity, GFO-19-602 - Hydrogen Refueling Infrastructure. . . .

The $5 million in VW funding for hydrogen refueling stations is part of the Light-Duty Zero-Emission Vehicle Infrastructure category, which is one of five categories that will provide funding through the VW Environmental Mitigation Trust program in California.

The four other project categories under the VW Environmental Mitigation Trust program in California and the regional air quality agency assigned to administer the funds statewide on behalf of CARB, are:

  • Zero-Emission Transit, School and Shuttle Bus Projects, administered by San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District.

    Zero-Emission Class 8 Freight & Port Drayage Trucks, administered by South Coast Air Quality Management District.

    Zero-Emission Freight & Marine Projects, administered by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District.

    Combustion Freight and Marine Projects, administered by South Coast Air Quality Management District.
 
GCC:
Fountain Valley, CA hydrogen station opens; 100% renewable H2


https://www.greencarcongress.com/2020/07/20200707-fountainvalley.html


The Fountain Valley, California hydrogen station has opened. The Fountain Valley True Zero station, located in Orange County, was developed by FirstElement Fuel. It will be open 24 hours a day and is located at 18480 Brookhurst Street, Fountain Valley, CA 92708.

The Fountain Valley hydrogen station capacity is 1200 kilograms; it has four fueling positions with a total of five nozzles (four H70 nozzles and one H35 nozzle). It is the first hydrogen station in California serving passenger cars to have four fueling positions and the largest capacity to date.

The next-largest station for passenger cars is the True Zero station in Oakland, with more than 800 kilograms. It opened in late 2019. . . .
 
GCC:
7 California state legislators call on Energy Commission fully to allocate $20M annual for hydrogen stations


https://www.greencarcongress.com/2020/08/20200825-h2.html


. . . In a letter to Commissioner Patty Monahan, the bipartisan group of lawmakers said the CEC did not allocate the funds in its recent updated “Clean Transportation Plan.” The failure to include the funds “undermines California’s ability to reach five million zero emission vehicles through the build out of 200 publicly available hydrogen fueling stations…risking equal and affordable access to clean transportation,” the legislators wrote.

While only a small share of zero emission vehicles on the road today, hydrogen electric vehicles must be a significant part of California’s clean transportation future. They offer quick refueling times at centrally located stations, long-range, and the ability to scale to larger-size applications. These advantages hold special promise to those without regular access to charging (such as the 46% of Californians living in multi-family dwellings and the 10% “super-commuter” workforce who travel more than 90 minutes per day, predominately from the Central Valley and Inland Empire).

Abandoning hydrogen electric vehicles at this critical juncture also guarantees higher electricity rates and higher housing costs as the need for charging infrastructure grows.


—Lawmakers’ letter. . . .
 
GRA said:
GCC:
7 California state legislators call on Energy Commission fully to allocate $20M annual for hydrogen stations


https://www.greencarcongress.com/2020/08/20200825-h2.html


. . . In a letter to Commissioner Patty Monahan, the bipartisan group of lawmakers said the CEC did not allocate the funds in its recent updated “Clean Transportation Plan.” The failure to include the funds “undermines California’s ability to reach five million zero emission vehicles through the build out of 200 publicly available hydrogen fueling stations…risking equal and affordable access to clean transportation,” the legislators wrote.

While only a small share of zero emission vehicles on the road today, hydrogen electric vehicles must be a significant part of California’s clean transportation future.
Seems like a waste of $.

If adding a DC FC costs $100K then each year, CA could add 200 DC FCs with that $.
rmay635703 said:
I wonder if one of the $5000 auctioned 2016 Mirais could be converted to natural gas?
LOL! I guess you'd need to somehow add a nat gas reformer onto the Mirai to produce the H2 the fuel stack needs. Otherwise, the car is just a shell/glider and you'd need to replace all the H2 and EV bits with an ICEV that runs off of nat gas.
 
Oilpan4 said:
Should change the title to "California retail natural gas powered fuel stations".
That would be confusing as we do have actual nat gas fueling stations, as well. Some are for retail use for cars like the Honda Civic GX.
 
cwerdna said:
Oilpan4 said:
Should change the title to "California retail natural gas powered fuel stations".
That would be confusing as we do have actual nat gas fueling stations, as well. Some are for retail use for cars like the Honda Civic GX.

I bet people can actually afford and don't mind paying for their own CNG?
 
Oilpan4 said:
cwerdna said:
Oilpan4 said:
Should change the title to "California retail natural gas powered fuel stations".
That would be confusing as we do have actual nat gas fueling stations, as well. Some are for retail use for cars like the Honda Civic GX.

I bet people can actually afford and don't mind paying for their own CNG?
Yep. One of my co-workers has a Civic GX. I've talked to a few drivers of them over the years.
 
Just when you think it’s dead

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1OkvNBF3tMU81ng65gZZxgSNhVKQ2avWC/view?fbclid=IwAR0k2UR2FVCTqWNa8kS5GWvCuVEF8eRw9srkv4Ymn5oqrxYWMvlYQw6GbdU


Also the Mirai has an identical battery & transaxle as the Lexus HS hybrid,

motor swap ?
 
rmay635703 said:
Also the Mirai has an identical battery & transaxle as the Lexus HS hybrid,

motor swap ?
Lexus HS hybrid is dead, at least for the US. IIRC, Mirai is based upon the same platform though.

No, I don't think you're right about the same transaxle. HS Hybrid used Toyota Hybrid Synergy Drive with two motor generators and a power-split device, which should've been similar or identical to the Camry Hybrid of the time. I long ago won a 7 day free rental of a 1st model year HS 250h.

Same NiMH battery? Yes, I could believe that or one shared with some other Toyota/Lexus NiMH-based hybrid.
 
Once you discover you are riding a dead horse the best course of action is to dismount.
 
CARB's
2020 Annual Evaluation of Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle Deployment & Hydrogen Fuel Station Network Development

is available for download here:

https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/resources/documents/annual-hydrogen-evaluation


Owing to the supply disruption last year and Covid issues this year, there's only been a net gain of 1 open retail station in the past year, to 42. While 5 stations (4 new, 1 upgraded) have opened, 1 station closed because the property owner sold the site for development, and three others have been offline for upgrades and the timeline for re-opening is uncertain. In addition, 1 station developer (in Santa Nella) that had been awarded a grant decided not to proceed.

OTOH, the new stations that have opened have much greater capacity than the 1st Gen, as well as 2 or more dispensers. First Element has sixteen 1,200 kg stations planned, of which the first (4 disp.) in Fountain Valley has already opened. Shell has opened a couple of stations with 513 kg. cap., with several more on the way.

As of July 3rd there were five stations which had completed construction and were just waiting for final certification, permits etc.

It appears at this time that completion of up to 8 stations may be delayed from 2020 to 2021 due to Covid-related delays in permitting, construction and/or supply of equipment.

The new stations were all required to meet a 40% renewable H2 requirement vice 33% for the first gen. IIRR Fountain Valley is actually 100% renewable H2.
 
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