Hydrogen fuel infrastructure in California is set to see massive growth
July 15, 2014FirstElement Fuel to bring 19 new fueling stations to California
California’s hydrogen infrastructure is set to get a boost next year, thanks to FirstElement Fuel. The company has plans to open 19 new hydrogen fuel stations in the state and has received funding for this endeavor from both the California Energy Commission and Toyota. Another 9 fuel stations will be opened using funding provided by various grants from the state government. These new fuel stations are expected to help further establish a working hydrogen infrastructure in California.
Lack of an infrastructure creates an investment opportunity for automakers
California is currently home to 9 operational hydrogen fuel stations. The state’s infrastructure is lacking and is unable to support the launch of fuel cell vehicles at these time. This may be problematic, considering the fact that most major automakers have plans to release such vehicles in the coming year and California happens to be one of their most favored markets. This is why automakers like Toyota are investing in the development of a working hydrogen infrastructure.
New infrastructure plans could have an impact on plans to release fuel cell vehicles
With the state’s fuel infrastructure beginning to expand, automakers will be able to accelerate their plans for the mass production of fuel cell vehicles. Many automakers had opted to for several years before they launched these vehicles in order to ensure a working infrastructure was actually in place. With more organizations taking the matter of infrastructure into their own hands, however, these plans could change in the coming months.
High cost of fuel cell vehicles may still be a problem for California residents interested in clean transportation
One of the unattractive aspects of fuel cell vehicles is the fact that they do not have any infrastructure support. This is one of the reasons why these vehicles have not yet become popular among consumers. Another problem exists with their high cost. Fuel cells are notoriously expensive energy systems that make use of a significant amount of platinum material. Because of this, these vehicles are expected to be somewhat more expensive than their conventional counterparts.