Shell Hydrogen Station Grand Opening (video clip)
Click here for remarks from the Shell Hydrogen Station Grand Opening
Torrance, Calif., May 10, 2011 -- Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. (TMS)
today celebrated the opening of the first hydrogen fueling station in
the U.S. fed directly from an active industrial hydrogen pipeline. The
station is a collaborative effort between Toyota, Air Products, Shell,
South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) and the Department
of Energy (DOE). The facility will provide hydrogen for the Toyota fuel
cell hybrid demonstration program vehicles as well as other
manufacturers' fuel cell vehicle fleets in the Los Angeles area.
"Building an extensive hydrogen re-fueling infrastructure is a critical
step in the successful market launch of fuel cell vehicles," said
Chris Hostetter, group vice president, product and strategic planning,
TMS. "We plan to bring a fuel cell vehicle to market in 2015, or sooner,
and the infrastructure must be in place to support our customers'
needs."
The station is located adjacent to the TMS sales and marketing
headquarters campus. As landowner, Toyota leases the land to Shell for a
nominal fee. As station owner/operator, Shell works directly with Air
Products who provides onsite equipment and station maintenance. The
pipeline gas also is provided by Air Products from its plants in
Wilmington and Carson, Calif. SCAQMD and DOE provided project funding
assistance.
"This is the first time Shell has worked closely with a vehicle
manufacturer to develop a demonstration station," said Julian Evison,
general manager of operations for Shell alternative energies. "The
industry has made good technical progress, but cooperation is a
necessity for hydrogen to achieve its commercial potential as a road
transport fuel."
Air Products also worked with Toyota and other fuel cell vehicle
manufacturers to develop the Hydrogen Vehicle Authorization System
(HVAS), another first for the industry and unique to the Torrance
station. The HVAS wireless vehicle recognition system allows
station-to-vehicle recognition to facilitate quick and convenient
fueling for customers.
The station also will feature a learning center onsite to provide
hydrogen and station information to local students and the general
public. Shell and Toyota will work together to populate the learning
center.
With this new station, the City of Torrance will become part of the
California Hydrogen Highway initiative, which aims to create clean air
solutions and develop new technology jobs across the state.
For more information on the Hydrogen Highway initiative, please visit
http://www.hydrogenhighway.ca.gov/.
"This fueling station will be a tremendous model to show how effortless a
pipeline supply of hydrogen can be to an automobile fueling station and
other hydrogen fuel cell applications," said David J. Taylor, vice
president, energy business at Air Products. "This site will be a model
to learn and expand pipeline fed stations as opportunities arise."
The close proximity of the hydrogen pipeline to TMS campus led Toyota to
think beyond vehicles to consider additional ways to use hydrogen. In
2010, Toyota partnered with Ballard Power Systems to install a
one-megawatt hydrogen fuel cell generator to offset peak electricity
demand on campus. The fuel cell generator will be fed directly from the
hydrogen pipeline through an existing tap on the TMS property. Pipeline
hydrogen used on campus will be offset with the purchase of landfill
generated renewable bio-gas.
The system is scheduled for installation in 2012 and is estimated to
reduce CO2 emissions by 10,000 tons with emission-free fuel cell
technology. Plans include using heat created by the fuel cell system to
provide hot water and space heating in the Toyota employee fitness
center and in the Lexus headquarter building within the TMS headquarters
campus. Use of this heat will offset natural gas consumption on campus,
thereby avoiding an estimated additional 28 tons of CO2 emissions
annually.
Toyota's fuel cell hybrid vehicle fleet has logged several million
miles since hitting the road in 2002, with significant technological
improvements along the way. The first generation fuel cell hybrid
vehicles (FCHV) estimated range was 130 miles. In 2009, the latest
generation vehicle, Fuel Cell Hybrid Vehicle - Advanced (FCHV-adv),
achieved an estimated range of 431 miles on a single fill of
hydrogen. In addition to fuel cell stack efficiency and range
improvements, durability and cold temperature operation have greatly
improved along with significant reductions in manufacturing and
materials costs. Toyota's current FCHV-adv nationwide demonstration
program is placing more than 100 vehicles with demonstration partners by
2013, providing one of the largest fleets of active fuel cell vehicles
in the country. The primary goal of the demonstration program is to spur
infrastructure development prior to fuel cell vehicle market
introduction in 2015. Successful infrastructure development will require
collaborative efforts between manufacturers, government regulators, and
business, similar to the partnerships formed to open the Torrance Shell
hydrogen demo station.
"Vehicle demonstration programs and demonstration stations like
the Torrance station are a critical next step in preparing the market
for advanced technology vehicles and future fuels," said
Hostetter. "These innovative programs allow us educate, inform and
prepare our customers for the future."
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