California Energy Commission Green-Lights $8 Million Grant for Hydrogen Fuel Cell Station

The California Energy Commission has voted to approve an $8 million grant for the development of a high-capacity hydrogen fueling station.

In a statement Wednesday the Commission said the fueling station, at the Port of Long Beach, would be used to service and promote the expansion of zero-emission fuel cell electric Class 8 drayage trucks. Drayage trucks are used to take freight from ports to warehouses and other locations, the Commission said.

The Commission added that the promotion of zero-emission vehicles would help to "reduce greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution at the nation's second busiest container port."

The station, according to the Commission, will source its hydrogen "from 100 percent renewable biogas."

Hydrogen is becoming an attractive fuel source for many types of transport.

A fleet of hydrogen fuel cell buses is currently in operation in the Scottish city of Aberdeen. In September, European railway manufacturer Alstom launched what it says is the world's first hydrogen fuel cell train, which can travel up to 140 kilometers per hour.

The European Commission has described hydrogen as an energy carrier with "great potential for clean, efficient power in stationary, portable and transport applications."

For its part, the U.S Department of Energy (DOE) states that hydrogen can be utilized in fuel cells to produce power using a chemical reaction instead of combustion. This, the DOE says, means that the only by-products are water and heat.

Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2018/11/08/california-energy-commission-grant-for-hydrogen-fuel-cell-station.html

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