GM and Hawaii boost plan for hydrogen fueling stations for fuel cell cars

General Motors Co. is taking a big step toward making hydrogen-fueled vehicles a retail reality — at least on the Hawaiian Islands.

The Detroit-based automaker will announce today it is partnering with 12 major stakeholders in the Aloha state to build a network for fueling hydrogen-powered cars.

The automaker itself won't provide the hydrogen fuel cell cars, a technology it's still developing. But General Motors is trying to ready the market for their introduction, which could be as soon as 2015, said Charles Freese, GM's executive director for fuel cell activities.

The project, code-named the Hawaii Hydrogen Initiative or H2I, includes government agencies, utility companies, gas retailers and the military, which has a large presence and many bases on the islands. It aims to install as many as 25 hydrogen fueling stations on Oahu by 2015 and work with utilities to find ways of piping the fuel throughout the island.

GM hopes to better understand the real-world benefits and challenges of hydrogen fuel as it seeks to build vehicles powered by this emissions-free energy source. Hydrogen fuel is more efficient than gasoline and only emits water vapor.

The automaker has spent $1.5 billion on hydrogen fuel research and has a test fleet of about 100 fuel cell Chevrolet Equinox vehicles on the road.

But getting enough hydrogen fuel stations road side has been a hurdle to making fuel cell vehicles market-ready.

"If you go back into history, there has been one lingering, nagging thing that's always been a challenge," Freese said. "What do you have first: the cars or the fueling infrastructure?"

Hawaii offers the perfect test bed, he said. Motorists can't leave the island. Gas prices are typically higher in Hawaii than elsewhere across the country because it imports all its petroleum. And state utilities must make their own natural gas, and hydrogen is a byproduct.

State officials have set a goal of reducing Hawaii's petroleum consumption 70 percent by 2030.

"Hawaii is likely to be one of the first markets to open up to fuel cells," Freese said.

Source: Christina Rogers, The Detroit News