Shell Hydrogen and General Motors open hydrogen refuelling station in Los Angeles

The first public hydrogen refueling station in California with integrated hydrogen and gasoline refueling is now open, providing drivers in Chevrolet's Project Driveway another location to refuel their Equinox fuel cell vehicles, currently on the roads in Southern California.

DOE learning demoThe lack of hydrogen fuelling facilities has been a cited as a major impediment to faster acceptance of fuel-cell vehicles.

The station is the third Shell Hydrogen vehicle refueling stations in the US as part of the US department of energy's hydrogen vehicle and infrastructure demonstration and validation project (DOE learning demo). Other Shell hydrogen stations already in operation are located in Washington, D.C. and White Plains, NY. GM and Shell Hydrogen are teamed up under the DOE Learning Demo to deploy fuel cell electric vehicles and install hydrogen stations in Southern California, Washington, D.C. and the New York City metropolitan area.

"The hydrogen infrastructure for automobiles is economically viable and do-able," said Larry Burns, PhD, General Motors' vice president of research and development and strategic planning. "It requires a collective will by automakers, energy suppliers, and governments who have the courage to shape our destiny and take infrastructure to the next level. We applaud Shell for their forward-thinking efforts to help advance the hydrogen infrastructure."

The Santa Monica Boulevard Shell station is conveniently located for many Project Driveway customers who want to refuel their Chevrolet Equinox Fuel Cell electric vehicles on LA's West Side. It is also California's first hydrogen refueling station that is integrated with an existing conventional gasoline station.

"California is leading the way with clean fuels," said Graeme Sweeney, Executive Vice President for Shell Future Fuels and CO2. "FCVs powered by hydrogen, like the Chevrolet Equinox Fuel Cell vehicles on roads throughout Southern California now, will provide a sustainable transportation choice for the future. We are pleased to be playing our part to help develop a safe and reliable fueling infrastructure for future clean energy vehicles."