Santa Monica Unveils New Clean Renewable & Sustainable Hydrogen
Fueling Station
City officials will be joined by, clean air agency representatives, project partners and participants, industry experts, supporters and dozens of Santa Monica residents in a ceremony to cut the ribbon on a new clean hydrogen fuel generation plant and vehicle fueling station located in the city’s fleet yard on Michigan Street.
The fueling station is a demonstration project by the City of Santa Monica, developed by HyGen Industries, and funded by the South Coast Air Quality Management District and other participants. The system will produce about 240 “standard cubic feet” of hydrogen per hour, which adds up to about 12 kilograms in weight of hydrogen per day, which is equivalent to about 4.5 gallons of gasoline. The fuel will be used to power 5 internal combustion hydrogen engine / electric motor Prius hybrids for a variety of City uses.
The hydrogen fuel is generated on-site through the electrolysis of water, which produces oxygen and hydrogen gas. The hydrogen is compressed and stored and the oxygen is vented safely to the atmosphere. In its end use as a vehicle fuel, the emission of hydrogen combustion is nearly pure water vapor. The fuel is considered clean because the fuel production system uses Santa Monica’s “green” electricity to run the process. Santa Monica pays a 2% premium to purchase green power for all its municipal electricity needs. The power is generated from sources such as wind, biomass and geothermal.
Mayor Bob Holbrook: “The opening of this station is an important milestone in our transition away from a fossil fuel-based economy, and marks the beginning of a new era for the City’s goals for sustainability,”
Santa Monica Renewable Hydrogen Fueling Station
Project & Program Developers, HyGen Industries Chairman, Paul Staples: “HyGen is proud to have played a role initiating this effort. When we developed our business plan to deploy the renewable hydrogen economy five years ago, we saw Santa Monica as the keystone for its implementation. Santa Monica has long been on the cutting edge of pollution reduction and use of alternative clean technologies. This project is a culmination of three years of design and development work by HyGen Industries for the City, and Santa Monica is an important municipal member of HyGen’s Sustainable Hydrogen Infrastructure Partnership (SHIP®), which proposes to demonstrate the feasibility of renewable hydrogen energy technologies.
CalEPA, Former Secretary of CalEPA Dr. Alan Lloyd “If you look at the uncertainty with petroleum supply and cost, I think its prudent to pursue alternative technologies, so that’s why I’m wholeheartedly in favor of hydrogen as one of the pathways in the short term, and the ultimate pathway to get us where we need to be in the longer term. Santa Monica is again showing environmental leadership while making a wise investment in the near as well as for the future.”
Jan Perry, AQMD Governing Board Member “Santa Monica is one of an visionary group of five Southern California cities placing themselves ahead of the curve in meeting future energy needs and cleaner air standards. These vehicles drive and perform like regular gasoline cars and yet they emit no global warming gases and meet the state’s strictest standard for smog-forming pollutants.”
Project Sponsoring Partners:
City of Santa Monica, Depart. Of Environmental & Public Works Management: Funding & Site Management & Hosting
South Coast Air Quality Management District: Funding
U. S. Department of Energy: Funding
Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.: Co-Funding and Fueling Station
Quantum Technologies, Inc.: Co-Funding and Toyta Prius Vehicle Conversions
Additional Project Participants:
Proton Energy Systems, Inc.: Electrolyzer Manufacturer
HyGen Industries: Program and Project Development
Matrix Engineers and Contractors: Facility Construction, and Installation
Clean Air Now: Public Education
