In January 2010, I had first talked about the East Coast Hydrogen Highway system being developed by SunHydro. The New York Times has now added a few details about the plan including the company’s founder and how the plan is to be financed.
In my last blog post, I roughly calculated the farthest distance between the 11 hydrogen fueling stations that run from Portland Maine to Orlando, Florida as being 145 miles apart. In the NYT article it states, however that according to Wired.com the stations, “…will be strategically located from Portland, Me., down to Miami, Fla., to account for the 300 mile range that state-of-the-art hydrogen cars are capable of traveling.”
When I checked the Wired article, however, this is not stated in the article itself but from someone commenting on the article. Why this is important is that if the 300 mile distance between stations is indeed accurate this would exclude the Honda Clarity and many other hydrogen fuel cell vehicles that do not have a 300 mile range. So, I’m checking on the details now about this one point.
SunHydro is a startup company that was founded by Tom Sullivan who made $544 million in sales last year from the other company he founded Lumber Liquidators. Another company called Proton Energy Systems was put up for auction and Mr. Sullivan paid $10.2 million for this company. Proton Energy Systems is building the electrolyzers for the 11 hydrogen fueling stations which will use solar panels and water to create clean energy for the hydrogen vehicles.
Mr. Sullivan expects to put $15 – $20 million into the building of the 11 hydrogen fueling stations along the East Coast Hydrogen Highway network. Mr. Sullivan has now secured most of the land he will need for this project and the first station is set to go online June 2010 in Wallingford, Connecticut at the Proton Energy Systems headquarters.
If, generously, each of these takes $1.36 million to build (11 stations, $15 million), and only creates 65 kg / day of H2…if each sells out each day, and he somehow is able to sell the product for say, $7/kg, it’ll be 8 years before he recovers the raw capital (not mentioning cost of money), to say nothing of the insurance, tax, employee, maintenance liabilities…
Yes to build infrastructure is expensive but to what cost.
As we know our pricing will be higher on all including oil.So I think Fuel Cells will be the least cost in the long run threw hydrogen oxygen fuel cell.
We have been told everything will be costly look at our oil pricing today in the U.S.and with the oil leaking in the Gulf of Mexico.Americans will and have been paying dearly not only oil and delivery of the product. This oil spill is a problem not only for our gas tank but our Beaches tourist and for me Food Chain.Jobs will hurt, our fishing will be destroyed ( Scamp “King Of the sea”,Shrimp,Scallops we are trying to grow the Beds back,Clams) Just the beginning.How much will this cost us? Pay for Hydrogen Fuel Cells and Fuel have CO2 cleanest product and water gases.We need these changes, Or are we going painfully like the world did during oil crisis in the 1970’s with the exception of Brazil.
Brazil took sugar and changed there oil fix.We must learn Historically that we must change.We have already paid billions on Hydrogen.Lets get our pumps moving with co2 Clean cash.Well give me a Solar Cell Hydrogen creates cash flow after infrastructure is built.OK Hydrogen started in US in the early 1800’s.Stop saying this is to us that is to expensive. WE will be broke if we don’t.Lets stop talking we know we can manufacturer on sites.