Southern California hydrogen station is the first to use pipeline

The Shell Hydrogen station in Southern California get hydrogen supply from the pipeline from Air Products plants in Wilmington and Carson, making it the first of its kind. This hydrogen cell station is the first to use the pipelines other than distribution by truck to the hydrogen station.

The public station in Torrance is the first in the country supplied by an active hydrogen pipeline. In Southern California today is quite fuel-cell vehicles roaming the streets such as A Honda FCX Clarity, Mercedes-Benz F-Cell, etc. despite competing with the growth of electric cars.

Strategic location of the stations is located on the land where Shell is taken on lease from Toyota which also planning to bring their fuel cell vehicle to market in 2015, as well as Honda and Mercedes-Benz to mass-market their hydrogen fuel cell vehicles in showrooms by 2015 too.

The station able to fuel up to four cars simultaneously in under 5 minutes, besides capable of dispensing 100kg of compressed hydrogen fuel over 12 hours. The hydrogen station project was funded in part by the South Coast Air Quality Management District and the Department of Energy.

According to Chris Hostetter, the Toyota vice president of strategic resources, the fuel cell technology is viable and ready for the mass market and Toyota has managed to cut more than 90 percent of the cost of their fuel cell vehicles, thanks to the use of less platinum and other expensive materials. That will allow them to sell its first hydrogen vehicle for around $ 50,000.