GM and Hawaii Gas Company to Collaborate on Hydrogen Infrastructure Pilot; Different Approach to Provisioning Fueling Stations

TGC infrastructure follows the populated core on Oahu. Click to enlarge.

General Motors and Hawaii’s The Gas Company (TGC), the state’s major gas energy provider, are collaborating on a hydrogen infrastructure project.

TGC produces hydrogen along with synthetic natural gas and delivers it in its utility gas stream, with more than 5% hydrogen content today; it has the capability of producing more H₂ through its renewable biogas initiative. TGC plans to tap into its 1,000-mile utility pipeline system at key locations to separate the hydrogen from the stream through Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) technology for use by local fueling stations for fuel cell vehicles.

The cost of deploying a PSA system and associated refueling pump at a fueling stations will be on the order of $300,000 to $500,000, said Jeff Kissel, president and CEO of TGC during a briefing on the announcement—about one-quarter of the cost of currently installing a more conventional hydrogen fueling station in the US.

This is the type of enabler that a hydrogen transportation infrastructure needs because it addresses both the source of the hydrogen and a feasible way to deliver it for fuel cell vehicle use. The Hawaii infrastructure could eventually support tens of thousands of fuel cell vehicles. Hawaii is uniquely positioned and motivated to make hydrogen-powered fuel cell transportation a reality because it depends on imported petroleum for 90 percent of its energy.

—Charles Freese, executive director of GM Global Fuel Cell Activities

TGC will file a tariff with the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission to establish the cost of hydrogen for the retail dispenser. “Based on what we know today,” said Kissel, “we believe that the cost of the fuel will be comparable to gasoline on a per mile driven basis. A lot will depend upon the retail markup.

TGC H₂ Production. The Gas Company currently produces synthetic natural gas from naptha and hydrogen, will plans to include plant oils and animal fats as feedstocks in the future. It has the ability to make excess hydrogen from the process and add to the gas stream. Currently, TGC has the capacity to produce 7,000 gasoline gallons equivalent of hydrogen per day, an amount it expects it can approximately double.

PSA technology. Click to enlarge.

PSA technology is based on the different properties of two the gases (methane and hydrogen) under pressure. The methane will stick to a catalyst bed, while the hydrogen will pass through and can be taken off at the station. Release the pressure, and the methane is returned to the system and returned to consumers.

PSA technology is well-established, and TGC is evaluating systems from several potential suppliers, Kissel said.

The state, via the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative, is committed to reducing petroleum use by 70% within a generation through a combination of renewable energy resources, conservation and efficiency. The use of hydrogen as a transportation fuel could be a key contributor