Fountain Valley Hydrogen Fueling Station Now Model for World

Two key players in the hydrogen manufacturing arena will be working together to make hydrogen fueling stations a reality for the fuel cell vehicles that should be coming to market in the second half of this decade, according to cnet.com.

The Orange County Sanitation District in Fountain Valley last year opened the world's first tri-generation fuel cell and hydrogen energy station, which uses sewage biogas to produce heat, electricity, and hydrogen. The end result of the system is a constant stream of hydrogen that doesn't require large amounts of electricity to produce.

Sewage waiting to be processed at the OCSD wastewater treatment plant produces methane gas. A system designed by FuelCell Energy collects the methane and reformulates it into hydrogen, then sends it to a fuel cell. Electricity from the fuel cell is used to power the facility, and any leftover hydrogen is diverted to a hydrogen fueling station operated by AirPower.

The companies are already working together to operate the pilot facility in Fountain Valley. Using captured methane generated by sewage waiting for processing at the OCSD facility, the DFC power plant produces hydrogen for a nearby fueling station operated by Air Products. The agreement formalizes their effort to develop a market for this clean energy solution with a low carbon footprint. More ...

Originally posted at cnet.com.