Mar 12 2014
Air Products' newest hydrogen fueling station, a SmartFuel® branded station located in Torrance, California, is installed and operational at Honda's R&D headquarters. The private station incorporates many technology advancements and is being touted by Air Products as a model for how rapidly a hydrogen fueling station can be constructed at a site, and its related infrastructure can be placed into operation.
Completion time at this new station from contract signing, through construction, and to final commissioning with hydrogen, was just seven months.
"Our priority focus is always on safety. This new station, however, shows just how far we have come in our ability to put hydrogen fueling stations and other needed infrastructure into operation in an expedited manner, while complying with our safety mandate, by using a product-based approach. Our new fueling station model allows for replication, and going forward we believe we can accomplish fueling projects like this safely in even less time," said Ed Kiczek, global business director - Hydrogen Energy Systems at Air Products. "We have definitely benefitted from incorporating some of the practices gained in our fueling work with the material handling market, where we have been able to get hydrogen fueling stations up and running in as little as six weeks."
The new SmartFuel branded station provides hydrogen fueling at 700 bar (10,000 psi) and includes Air Products' patented technology to practice the SAE J2601 fueling protocol. The station is modeled after Air Products' "compressionless hydrogen fueling station." Air Products has available several SmartFuel fueling station concepts incorporating modular and expandable technology and holds an entire portfolio of global patents, with additional patents pending, related to the compressionless advancement. Details on Air Products' hydrogen fueling station technologies can be viewed at www.airproducts.com/h2energy.
Air Products, the leading global supplier of hydrogen to refineries to assist in producing cleaner burning transportation fuels, has vast experience in the hydrogen fueling industry. In fact, several sites today for certain hydrogen fueling applications are fueling at rates of over 75,000 refills per year. Use of the company's fueling technology is increasing and is over 800,000 hydrogen fills per year. The company has been involved in over 150 hydrogen fueling projects in the United States and 20 countries worldwide. Cars, trucks, vans, buses, scooters, forklifts, locomotives, planes, cell towers, material handling equipment, and even submarines have been fueled with trend-setting Air Products' technologies.
Air Products has more than 50 years of hydrogen experience and an extensive patent portfolio in hydrogen dispensing technology. Air Products provides liquid and gaseous hydrogen and a variety of enabling devices and protocols for fuel dispensing at varied pressures. Hydrogen for these stations can be delivered to a site via truck or pipeline, produced by natural gas reformation, biomass conversion, or by electrolysis, including electrolysis driven by renewable energy sources such as solar and wind.
About Air Products
Air Products (NYSE: APD) provides atmospheric, process and specialty gases; performance materials; equipment; and technology. For over 70 years, the company has enabled customers to become more productive, energy efficient and sustainable. Recognized as one of the world's most innovative companies by both Thomson Reuters and Forbes magazine, more than 21,000 employees in over 50 countries supply effective solutions to the energy, environment and emerging markets. These include semiconductor materials, refinery hydrogen, coal gasification, natural gas liquefaction, and advanced coatings and adhesives. In fiscal 2013, Air Products had sales of $10.2 billion.
About Honda
Honda has led the industry for nearly two decades in the development and deployment of fuel cell technology through extensive real world testing, including the first government fleet deployment and retail customer lease programs in the United States. Honda has also made significant technological advancements in fuel cell operation in both hot and sub-freezing temperatures, meeting stringent emissions requirements and safety regulations, since the introduction of its first generation fuel cell vehicle, the FCX, in 2002. Honda launched its current fuel cell-electric vehicle, the FCX Clarity, in July 2008 as a real technological breakthrough in the areas of design, sedan packaging, assembly line manufacturing, and fuel cell stack size and efficiency, winning "World Green Car of the Year."
In November 2013, Honda debuted the new Honda FCEV Concept at the Los Angeles International Auto Show, pointing the way to an all-new Honda fuel cell car launching in the U.S. and Japan in 2015 and later in Europe. Honda's next-generation fuel cell-electric vehicle will feature a fuel cell powertrain packaged completely in the engine room of the vehicle, allowing for efficiencies in cabin space as well as flexibility in the potential application of FC technology to multiple vehicle types in the future. The next-generation Honda FCEV is anticipated to deliver a driving range of more than 300 miles.