Skip to main content

Hydrogen filling station operating in California

Linde North America, a specialist in the design, construction and operation of hydrogen vehicle fuelling systems, has commissioned an installation at AC Transit, the bus operator for 13 cities in the East Bay Area, including Emeryville, Oakland and Berkeley, and also operates trans-bay service to San Francisco. The Emeryville hydrogen fuelling station, which is now fuelling 12 fuel cell buses and up to 20 passenger cars a day, is one of two Linde is supplying to AC Transit. The second, located at the Oaklan
April 11, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
Linde North America, a specialist in the design, construction and operation of hydrogen vehicle fuelling systems, has commissioned an installation at 274 AC Transit, the bus operator for 13 cities in the East Bay Area, including Emeryville, Oakland and Berkeley, and also operates trans-bay service to San Francisco.

The Emeryville hydrogen fuelling station, which is now fuelling 12 fuel cell buses and up to 20 passenger cars a day, is one of two Linde is supplying to AC Transit. The second, located at the Oakland operating division, is expected to begin operating in 2013. Both stations are part of AC Transit’s HyRoad project, which seeks to demonstrate the commercial viability of hydrogen fuel cell technology for the public transport industry.

Replacing diesel with hydrogen fuel completely eliminates vehicle tailpipe emissions. The California Air Resources Board estimates that fuel cell buses will deliver a net reduction of 2.7 pounds of carbon dioxide per mile using hydrogen reformed from methane, and 6.3 pounds per mile using hydrogen derived from solar, wind, or other renewable sources. Each bus is projected to travel 36,000 miles per year, reducing carbon emissions by 44 metric tons annually when using methane as a source of fuel, or 103 metric tons using renewables.

This is the first public hydrogen fuelling station in the San Francisco Bay area. It meets industry needs for fast fuelling and includes both 700 and 350 bar fuelling. 2069 Daimler, which has tested fuel cell cars at the station on several occasions, described the station as “the best we have filled at in the United States. Performance-wise, it meets the Daimler requirement of a three-to-four minute complete fill with a delivered gas temperature of -40o C, the best available today. In addition to fill performance, the station reliably demonstrated the capability to fill four fuel cell vehicles back-to-back,” said Rosario Beretta, general manager, 1685 Mercedes-Benz Research & Development North America, who is responsible for Mercedes-Benz fuel cell vehicle operations in North America.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Jacobs JV awarded contract for California high speed rail
    July 23, 2015
    The Jacobs Engineering Group has been awarded a contract to provide design services for the Construction Package 2-3 (CP 2-3) of the California High Speed Rail, the continuation of construction on the California high-speed rail system south towards Kern County. Jacobs is the lead designer for the Dragados-Flatiron joint venture for the design-build contract and is responsible for the infrastructure design. The California High Speed Rail is the first true high-speed rail being constructed in the United S
  • BMW Group selects AeroVironment for EV charging in major US cities
    May 16, 2012
    AeroVironment has announced that the BMW Group has selected it as the preferred provider of electric vehicle charging equipment, accessories and installation services supporting the introduction of the all-electric BMW ActiveE. This vehicle is the second phase of the BMW Group's electro-mobility development strategy and brings all-electric technology to a new class of luxury vehicles. ActiveE vehicles will be distributed in the major metropolitan markets of Boston, Los Angeles, New York City, San Diego, San
  • EU to boost long distance travel for fuel cell cars
    December 8, 2014
    The EU's TEN-T programme will invest almost US$4.3 million in studies preparing a European network of hydrogen infrastructure for transport. The network is expected to enhance the use of fuel cell vehicles in Europe leading to cuts in overall transport emissions. The uptake of fuel cell cars, zero emission vehicles that run on electricity powered by hydrogen, depends on the availability of refuelling infrastructure on the main European roads. This project is the second part of a larger action aiming
  • California DOT implements smart corridor
    October 14, 2013
    The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) recently completed a smart corridor project on State Route 12 in Solano, Sacramento and San Joaquin counties, and I-5 in San Joaquin County. The project utilises intelligent transportation system (ITS) technology for five electronic message signs and four closed-circuit TV cameras to provide drivers with up to date travel information, enabling them to choose an alternate route in the event of congestion or roadway incidents.