LEHIGH VALLEY, Pa.-- Featuring advancements in hydrogen fueling technology, Air Products and the University of California, Irvine (UCI) today held a dedication ceremony unveiling a new 700 and 350 bar (10,000/5,000 psi) pressure capable vehicle fueling station on the UCI campus in front of invited government officials, university and fuel cell industry media and guests, and several automobile manufacturers. The 700 bar fueling station is a first in the United States to be sited at a location with wider accessibility for vehicle fueling demonstrations. The station is the first deployed by Air Products as part of the California Hydrogen Infrastructure Project (CHIP) with the United States Department of Energy (DOE), along with project collaborators Toyota, Honda, BMW and Nissan.

One way for hydrogen vehicles to achieve a greater range between refuelings is through vehicle on-board storage at higher pressures. "This is really a milestone project in the continued development of fueling station technology. The dual-pressure dispensing capability allows drivers to select the pressure at which to refuel their hydrogen fueled vehicles. This station is the first in California and the United States with the ability to dispense hydrogen at varied and advanced pressures, and to be sited in public view," said Ed Heydorn, business development manager for Air Products.

Air Products designed, engineered, installed, and will maintain the dual pressure station with funding from the DOE and California's South Coast Air Quality Management District. Planning is underway for the addition of a separate liquid dispensing unit which can directly fill vehicles that carry liquid hydrogen on board as a fuel. Toyota, Honda, and Nissan's hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and BMW's hydrogen internal combustion engine vehicle, which uses liquid hydrogen, anticipate fueling at the station. The National Fuel Cell Research Center at UC Irvine operates the station, which is open to authorized users in furtherance of the DOE project. Air Products has installed prior 700 bar stations for private use at vehicle original equipment manufacturer facilities.

"The world looks to California as the testing ground for next-generation automobile technologies. The shift to a hydrogen economy is not an incremental change to society, but rather a dramatic and fundamental shift in the way that individuals will operate their vehicles in the future," said Scott Samuelsen, director of UCI's National Fuel Cell Research Center. "UCI has played an integral role in leading this transformation, and we are excited to be taking an important next step with the opening of this state-of-the-art hydrogen refueling station."

The fueling station features non-interchangeable fueling nozzles, which reduce the potential for user error. The stand-alone dispenser features a familiar gas station-like interface designed for ease of use and safety. The station has the capacity to fill approximately five to 10 vehicles per day, depending on vehicle fuel capacity. Computerized vehicle communications help optimize the refueling process, and vehicle fill times are approximately three to six minutes.

The CHIP program is a DOE sponsored multi-year project led by Air Products to demonstrate a model of real-world hydrogen infrastructure and to acquire sufficient data to assess the feasibility of achieving some of the nation's hydrogen infrastructure goals. To accomplish this, several hydrogen fueling stations employing a variety of hydrogen production methods are planned in the greater Los Angeles area, including the station at UCI.

Hydrogen, when used as a source of energy, produces zero or near zero emissions. The emissions from a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle contain only water vapor. Hydrogen today is produced efficiently from natural gas and can also be produced from non-petroleum sources, thereby potentially reducing the country's dependence on petroleum. The ultimate goal is for hydrogen to be produced through a variety of clean and renewable energy sources.