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Hawaii hydrogen pipeline project
Transportation, May 12 2010 (The Hydrogen Journal)
- General Motors has joined up with The Gas Co, which operates 1,000 miles of pipeline on Oahu Island, Hawaii, to test hydrogen refuelling technology for fuel cell vehicles.
The Gas Co is able to produce hydrogen at its plant in Campbell Industrial Park, which reacts imported petroleum to make methane gas.
The idea is that the methane could be reacted to produce hydrogen at hydrogen fuelling stations located along the pipeline.
"This is the type of enabler that a hydrogen transportation infrastructure needs because it addresses both the source of the hydrogen and a feasible way to deliver it for fuel cell vehicle use," said Charles Freese, executive director of GM Global Fuel Cell Activities.
"The Hawaii infrastructure could eventually support tens of thousands of fuel cell vehicles."
Hawaii is very keen to develop a hydrogen fuel cell infrastructure, so it can ultimately get away from dependence on imported petroleum - if it can generate hydrogen from other sources of energy, such as wind or solar. Also, when living on a small island, you are never too far away from the fuelling station.
It has a goal of obtaining 70 percent of its energy from clean sources by 2030.
The Gas Co says that it provides an (un-quantified) amount of hydrogen to its gas customers which is sourced 12 per cent from renewable energy.
GM said it would be looking for corporate fleet operators as its first customers.
