Los Angeles Shell Hydrogen Station Opens

In Los Angeles, California on Santa Monica Boulevard a new public Shell hydrogen station is set to open. This hydrogen station is different than many in that it will also dispense gasoline to drivers along this busy street in the heart of the city.

The timing couldn’t be any better. With GM’s Project Driveway in full swing now, the drivers of their Chevy Equinox FCV will have another option on where to refuel. Also, the drivers of the new Honda FCX Clarity, who will be announced on June 16 alongside the first production rollouts in Japan, will also have another avenue in which to gas up with hydrogen.

The Santa Monica hydrogen pump will use the facility’s electricity to electrolyze water to create hydrogen. The Department of Energy and General Motors also had a hand in building and funding this station as well. Shell has also committed to building a few more hydrogen stations in the Los Angeles area in the coming months in support of the hydrogen fuel cell vehicles that continue to roll out.

Vice president of Shell Hydrogen, Duncan Macleod has called for a series of urban mini-networks of fueling stations to be built in the largest U. S. cities to start off the roll out of the hydrogen highway infrastructure nationwide. Worldwide, Macleod is calling for New York, Los Angeles, Tokyo and Shanghai to get the first mini-networks of public H2 stations.