Green Livin We’ve discovered the BMW Hydrogen 7's perfect refueling station. A new Shell station that sells both hydrogen and standard gasoline opened in West Los. The station is located on Santa Monica Boulevard and Federal Avenue, near I-405 - this is right near the recently-opened Tesla Motors store.
New FCX Clarity drivers and participants in GM's Project Driveway should be able to refuel their cars at the station and feel pretty good about the provenance of their purchase. Shell will be selling hydrogen made using electrolysis right there at the station. To further cast a green haze over the whole thing, Shell is buying "green electricity" from the utilities to crack the water.
In hydrogen vehicles, an electric motor powers the wheels. A chemical reaction inside a unit called a fuel cell -- usually between hydrogen and oxygen -- creates electricity for the motor.
The only tail pipe emission is water vapor, which produces zero carbon emissions and has the potential to significantly reduce air pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions, improve air quality, and protect against climate change.
California already has more fuel cell vehicles (FCVs) and hydrogen refueling stations than any other part of the world, and last year recorded 1.5 million zero emission miles from hydrogen FCV trials. Twenty-five hydrogen stations currently operate in California, most in the San Francisco-Sacramento corridor and the Greater Los Angeles and San Diego regions, serving more than 100 fuel cell passenger vehicles and transit buses, with a further ten stations already in the planning stages.
Hydrogen production at the Shell station will be done on-site by the electrolysis of water using 'green electricity'purchased from the Los Angeles City Department of Water & Power. It will then be compressed and stored to provide daily fueling.
The station will also support a U.S. Department of Energy hydrogen infrastructure program, to supply hydrogen to future and existing General Motors FCVs in the LA metro area. GM plans to lease more than thirty Chevrolet Equinox Fuel Cell-Electric compact SUVs to private and commercial customers in Southern California, as part of a three-year trial, called "Project Driveaway" to test the vehicles in real world driving conditions.
With the US one of the largest automotive markets in the world, with over 247 million vehicles on its roads, car ownership predicted to increase by 45% between 2005 and 20203, and US energy consumption set to rise to 139.9 quadrillion Btu by 20154, hydrogen FCVs are set to play an important part in the United States' growing energy and mobility needs.
In addition to zero tailpipe emissions, finding ways to produce hydrogen from renewable sources will be critically important to making the fuel infrastructure sustainable. And with ground breaking approaches to produce 'green hydrogen', manufactured from renewable energy sources, such as bioethanol (derived from biomass) and solar energy being researched for the future, 'well to wheel' emissions will be able to near zero.
Hydrogen can also be produced from a number of different feedstocks including oil, coal, and biomass. This allows different countries to manufacture hydrogen with their own domestic supplies, and at the same time reduce costs and increase security of supply.
California is leading the way with clean fuels, as it moves one step closer to realizing its hydrogen program, FCVs powered by hydrogen will provide a sustainable transportation choice for the future, opening up new markets across the globe. This requires the sustained effort of energy companies, auto manufacturers and federal and state governments working together. To help develop a safe and reliable fueling infrastructure for future clean energy vehicles, as the only major energy company involved in FCV vehicle demonstrations in all three major hydrogen markets -- North America, Japan, and Europe.
"This is a very exciting development; Shell is helping to usher in the hydrogen age. Hats off to Shell for implementing innovative solutions to mitigate air pollution.
'Shell Hydrogen' refers to the companies of the Shell Group of companies that are engaged in the pursuit and development of businesses related to hydrogen and fuel cells. Each of the companies that make up the Shell Group of companies is a separate and distinct legal entity. Principal offices of Shell Hydrogen are located in The Hague, the Netherlands, with regional bases in Houston and Tokyo. Shell Hydrogen has been developing hydrogen and fuel cell businesses since 1999. For further information, please visit http://www.shell.com/hydrogen .
Sources:
1 = Green electricity purchased from the Los Angeles City Department ofWater & Power is credited against the power company's allowance ofgreen sourced power.
2 = US Bureau of Transport Statistics -- 247,421,120 vehicles on US roadsin 2006
3 = Unsustainable Transport Report, January 2005, Professor DavidBannister, University College London
- Over the next 25 years, we are likely to see a furtherincrease of 75 per cent in car ownership levels and a growth of 56per cent in traffic levels globally
- In developed countries, there is some stability in the patterns oftravel, with car ownership expected to increase by 45 per cent(North America) and 54 per cent in other OECD countries
4 = US Energy Information Administration, International Energy OutlookReport 2006
1 comment:
I am so proud of you.You have come such a long way and you deserve it after all the crap you have been thru and that people have put you thru.
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