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Honda R&D installs Air Products fast-fill hydrogen station in US
NEWS the Air Liquide subsidiary Axane (80%) and US-based Plug Power (20%) [FCB, May 2013, p1]. This allows Air Liquide to offer an integrated hydrogen solution, including the fueling station, for the European market. The use of hydrogen as an energy carrier for logistic platforms has been developing in the US and Canada, with nearly 5000 forklift trucks currently running on hydrogen [see the Plug Power feature in FCB, December 2011, and the forklifts feature in October 2010]. The segment for fuel cell powered materials handling vehicles is the fastest-growing market for hydrogen energy. HyPulsion’s suite of GenDrive® products are designed to fit seamlessly into existing electric lift truck fleets in the European market space, to streamline operations while maximising fleet uptime and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Air Liquide – Advanced Business, Sassenage, France. Tel: +33 4 7643 6821, www.airliquideadvancedbusiness.com or http://tinyurl.com/airliquide-advtech HyPulsion, Sassenage, France. Tel: +33 4 7650 5211, www.hypulsion.com Plug Power, Latham, New York, USA. Tel: +1 518 782 7700, www.plugpower.com
Honda R&D installs Air Products fast-fill hydrogen station in US
H
onda R&D Americas has installed a state-of-the-art hydrogen refueling station on its Torrance, California headquarters campus, in anticipation of the 2015 launch of its nextgeneration fuel cell electric vehicle. The facility features Air Products’ newest SmartFuel® hydrogen fueling station, and is expected to help pave the way for rapid infrastructure deployment. This advanced station will serve as a platform for demonstrating and validating the enhanced hydrogen fueling protocol developed by Honda, called MC Fill. Honda will make the new research station available to other automakers, to help standardise the new protocol and further validate its performance and functionality. The MC Fill fast-fill protocol is designed for systems that store hydrogen at 700 bar (10 000 psi) [see the SAE item on page 9]. This new protocol reduces 700 bar fueling times by up to 45% versus comparable fueling protocols, and can complete most fills in less than three minutes under normal temperatures. MC Fill more precisely monitors the dispenser outlet temperature, and uses this to calculate the 8
Fuel Cells Bulletin
shortest possible fueling time. This dynamic, fast-fill control also allows the dispenser to continuously adjust to current temperature and other conditions which normally affect refueling time. The Torrance station incorporates many technology advances, and is being touted by Air Products as a model for how rapidly a hydrogen station can be constructed and its related infrastructure placed into operation. The station construction took just seven months from contract signing to final commissioning with hydrogen. The new SmartFuel station includes Air Products’ patented technology to practice the SAE J2601 fueling protocol, and is modeled after the company’s compressionless hydrogen fueling technology [see the Air Products feature in FCB, February 2013]. ‘This new station 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,’ says Ed Kiczek, global business director for hydrogen energy systems at Air Products. ‘We have definitely benefited 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 [FCB, November 2012, p7].’ Honda launched its current vehicle, the FCX Clarity, in 2008 as a technological breakthrough in design, sedan packaging, assembly line manufacturing, and fuel cell stack size and efficiency [FCB, January 2008, p1]. Last autumn the new Honda FCEV Concept debuted at the Los Angeles International Auto Show, pointing the way to an all-new Honda fuel cell car launching in the US and Japan in 2015, and later in Europe [FCB, December 2013, p2].
Currently there are only nine hydrogen stations available to the public in California, but there are plans to rapidly expand this network in the next few years [FCB, December 2013, p11]. This hydrogen infrastructure development is being led by organisations such as the California Energy Commission and the California Fuel Cell Partnership [see the CaFCP feature in FCB, November 2009]. With automakers planning to start releasing fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) for sale to the public this spring, the availability and proper placement of retail hydrogen fueling outlets is critical to the successful market adoption of FCEVs by consumers. To instill confidence in FCEV users that they can travel with minimal concern about where they can refuel, Kalibrate will employ its retail site evaluation and fuel network planning expertise and modeling techniques to identify how many hydrogen fueling stations are needed, and where they should be located. The optimal locations will be identified, along with alternative locations for consideration when the best location is not viable. NREL’s industry knowledge and expertise on hydrogen fueling and the consumers that are likely to adopt this technology will provide valuable insight into Kalibrate’s process of determining the right infrastructure for these stations. ‘Alternative fuels are a growing segment that will create commercial opportunities for today’s petroleum retailers,’ says Bob Stein, president and CEO of New Jersey/UK-based Kalibrate Technologies (formerly KSS Fuels). ‘We look forward to working with the petroleum and convenience store industry to adapt and plan for this changing environment, and look forward to working with NREL to address this new opportunity.’
Honda FCEV: http://world.honda.com/FuelCell
Kalibrate Technologies, Florham Park, New Jersey, USA. Tel: 1 800 727 6774 (tollfree in US), www.KalibrateTech.com
Air Products, Hydrogen Energy: www.airproducts.com/h2energy
Kalibrate Technologies to analyse optimum California fueling sites
T
he US Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has awarded a contract to Kalibrate Technologies, a leading provider of fuel pricing and retail location analytics, to identify the infrastructure for placing hydrogen refueling stations throughout California.
NREL Alternative Fuels Data Center, Hydrogen: www.afdc.energy.gov/fuels/hydrogen.html NREL, Hydrogen & Fuel Cell Research: www.nrel.gov/hydrogen California Fuel Cell Partnership: www.cafcp.org
Proton OnSite systems to supply hydrogen in Hamburg, South Africa
C
onnecticut-based Proton OnSite has won a highly competitive application process to install a C-Series PEM electrolyser in a new hydrogen fueling
April 2014
Honda R&D installs Air Products fast-fill hydrogen station in US
H
onda R&D Americas has installed a state-of-the-art hydrogen refueling station on its Torrance, California headquarters campus, in anticipation of the 2015 launch of its nextgeneration fuel cell electric vehicle. The facility features Air Products’ newest SmartFuel® hydrogen fueling station, and is expected to help pave the way for rapid infrastructure deployment. This advanced station will serve as a platform for demonstrating and validating the enhanced hydrogen fueling protocol developed by Honda, called MC Fill. Honda will make the new research station available to other automakers, to help standardise the new protocol and further validate its performance and functionality. The MC Fill fast-fill protocol is designed for systems that store hydrogen at 700 bar (10 000 psi) [see the SAE item on page 9]. This new protocol reduces 700 bar fueling times by up to 45% versus comparable fueling protocols, and can complete most fills in less than three minutes under normal temperatures. MC Fill more precisely monitors the dispenser outlet temperature, and uses this to calculate the 8
Fuel Cells Bulletin
shortest possible fueling time. This dynamic, fast-fill control also allows the dispenser to continuously adjust to current temperature and other conditions which normally affect refueling time. The Torrance station incorporates many technology advances, and is being touted by Air Products as a model for how rapidly a hydrogen station can be constructed and its related infrastructure placed into operation. The station construction took just seven months from contract signing to final commissioning with hydrogen. The new SmartFuel station includes Air Products’ patented technology to practice the SAE J2601 fueling protocol, and is modeled after the company’s compressionless hydrogen fueling technology [see the Air Products feature in FCB, February 2013]. ‘This new station 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,’ says Ed Kiczek, global business director for hydrogen energy systems at Air Products. ‘We have definitely benefited 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 [FCB, November 2012, p7].’ Honda launched its current vehicle, the FCX Clarity, in 2008 as a technological breakthrough in design, sedan packaging, assembly line manufacturing, and fuel cell stack size and efficiency [FCB, January 2008, p1]. Last autumn the new Honda FCEV Concept debuted at the Los Angeles International Auto Show, pointing the way to an all-new Honda fuel cell car launching in the US and Japan in 2015, and later in Europe [FCB, December 2013, p2].
Currently there are only nine hydrogen stations available to the public in California, but there are plans to rapidly expand this network in the next few years [FCB, December 2013, p11]. This hydrogen infrastructure development is being led by organisations such as the California Energy Commission and the California Fuel Cell Partnership [see the CaFCP feature in FCB, November 2009]. With automakers planning to start releasing fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) for sale to the public this spring, the availability and proper placement of retail hydrogen fueling outlets is critical to the successful market adoption of FCEVs by consumers. To instill confidence in FCEV users that they can travel with minimal concern about where they can refuel, Kalibrate will employ its retail site evaluation and fuel network planning expertise and modeling techniques to identify how many hydrogen fueling stations are needed, and where they should be located. The optimal locations will be identified, along with alternative locations for consideration when the best location is not viable. NREL’s industry knowledge and expertise on hydrogen fueling and the consumers that are likely to adopt this technology will provide valuable insight into Kalibrate’s process of determining the right infrastructure for these stations. ‘Alternative fuels are a growing segment that will create commercial opportunities for today’s petroleum retailers,’ says Bob Stein, president and CEO of New Jersey/UK-based Kalibrate Technologies (formerly KSS Fuels). ‘We look forward to working with the petroleum and convenience store industry to adapt and plan for this changing environment, and look forward to working with NREL to address this new opportunity.’
Honda FCEV: http://world.honda.com/FuelCell
Kalibrate Technologies, Florham Park, New Jersey, USA. Tel: 1 800 727 6774 (tollfree in US), www.KalibrateTech.com
Air Products, Hydrogen Energy: www.airproducts.com/h2energy
Kalibrate Technologies to analyse optimum California fueling sites
T
he US Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has awarded a contract to Kalibrate Technologies, a leading provider of fuel pricing and retail location analytics, to identify the infrastructure for placing hydrogen refueling stations throughout California.
NREL Alternative Fuels Data Center, Hydrogen: www.afdc.energy.gov/fuels/hydrogen.html NREL, Hydrogen & Fuel Cell Research: www.nrel.gov/hydrogen California Fuel Cell Partnership: www.cafcp.org
Proton OnSite systems to supply hydrogen in Hamburg, South Africa
C
onnecticut-based Proton OnSite has won a highly competitive application process to install a C-Series PEM electrolyser in a new hydrogen fueling
April 2014