A mere two weeks after a magnitude 6.7 earthquake struck the big island of Hawaii, the nation’s 50th state is shaking things up again by announcing the opening of its first hydrogen fueling station. The hydrogen fueling station will open at the Hickam Air Force Base on Thursday, November 2, 2006.
Hickam Air Force Base currently hosts a 30-foot hydrogen hybrid shuttle bus built by Enova Systems, which has been in operation since 2004. The bus contains a Hydrogenics 20kw PEM fuel cell and recharges its batteries through regenerative braking.
The hydrogen fueling station at Hickam is ideal for military applications since it is portable and can be deployed to all sorts of situations, even on the battlefield. The Hickam fueling station helps move along Hawaii’s ambition as a depot for renewable hydrogen backed by the Hawaii Natural Energy Institute and Hawaii’s current governor Linda Lingle.