Today, a Proton OnSite FuelGen C30 proton exchange membrane electrolyzer will arrive at the Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam (JBPHH) facility outside of Honolulu, Hawaii. The PEM electrolyzer will use the same platform as the SunHydro fueling station at the Wallingford, Connecticut office.
According to Proton OnSite, “The electrolyzer at JBPHH will support the tri-service Hawaii Advanced Vehicle Working Group, which includes participation from all three Department of Defense branches operating in Hawaii – Army, Navy and Air Force. It is also supporting Hawaii’s Clean Energy Initiative and promotes energy security for the island state, which is vulnerable to fuel supply disruptions.
“The fueling station will be fueling a variety of hydrogen fuel cell and hydrogen internal combustion engine (ICE) cars on the base, as well as Department of Energy-sponsored buses and other flight line support vehicles. It will be powered by a combination of solar and grid power …
The JBPHH installation will use the same FuelGen C30 electrolyzer platform as the SunHydro commercial fueling station in Wallingford, Connecticut, which opened in October 2010. Proton OnSite estimates that the station has dispensed more than 1100 kg of hydrogen, the fuel equivalent to around 1100 gallons of gasoline, and completed more than 365 fills from its launch in October 2010 through to June 2011. Of these, more than 327 fills were 70 MPa/10000 psi H70 ‘fast fills’ of three minutes or less using SAE TIR J2601 and OEM fill protocols.”
Now, I had talked about the Proton OnSite installation in Hawaii once before. This is an update to that earlier article. What is exciting is that Oahu may become the first fully functional “Hydrogen Island” in the world as well as Hawaii being the first state to fully embrace hydrogen fuel.
Sure, California, New York, Washington DC and Florida have also put up hydrogen fueling stations but this process has slowed down in recent years while Hawaii has charged full steam ahead. Gotta give Hawaii creds for their vision and forethought when it comes to hydrogen solving their current and future energy problems.
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