World's largest hydrogen station planned for San Francisco

San Francisco is planning to build what is being billed as the world’s largest hydrogen fuelling station, capable of serving cars, buses and fleet vehicles, as well as a new high speed hydrogen fuelled ferry.

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration, MARAD, is funding a feasibility study to examine the technical, regulatory and economic aspects of the project.

The proposed station will be capable of dispensing 1,500 kg of hydrogen per day and be the first station to serve both land and marine vehicles. It is being designed in part to support a new high speed ferry service, the SF Breeze, which will require 1,000 kgs of hydrogen per day in normal operation.

Joe Pratt, the project lead with Sandia National Laboratories, a U.S. government lab that is partnering with San Francisco’s Red and White Fleet on the project, said: “A larger station reduces the cost per kilogram of hydrogen. Higher use will drive down that cost even more.”

He added: “We are involving so many stakeholders up front because if the feasibility study shows a ‘go’ we want to make sure the next phase has a rock-solid foundation.

“We hope that the feasibility study, regardless of the outcome, can be useful to others nationally and around the world who are looking at hydrogen fuel cell vessels as clean energy alternatives.”

Catherine Dunwoody, chief of the Fuel Cell Program at the California Air Resources Board, said: “This project offers an opportunity to closely examine how hydrogen can take its rightful place as a clean, low-carbon fuel for high-volume transportation operations, and also build the business case as part of an innovative application for fuel cells.”

At the moment no estimates have been given regarding cost, location or physical size.

A map of all hydrogen fuelling stations worldwide can be viewed here.