Photo Courtesy of www.hawaiigas.com
By Staff Reports
(Honolulu)– The Gas Company LLC, Hawaii’s clean gas energy provider, and General Motors (GM) dedicated the opening of a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle service center established to test and maintain a fleet of Chevrolet Equinox fuel cell vehicles. GM will operate the service center, located at The Gas Company’s Kamakee operation facility in Honolulu, Hawaii.
“Today marks another milestone in Hawaii’s diversified energy portfolio,” said Jeffrey Kissel, president and CEO of The Gas Company. “With this facility and The Gas Company’s ability to produce enough hydrogen to power the equivalent of up to 10,000 vehicles annually, we will be promoting a greener and more sustainable transportation solution that further reduces our petroleum dependency.”
The Gas Company and General Motors are founding members of the Hawaii Hydrogen Initiative, a unique partnership among 13 agencies, companies and universities to develop hydrogen infrastructure in Hawaii with the goal of displacing petroleum imports by operating vehicles powered by renewable hydrogen.
“General Motors is proud to support the people of Hawaii in their energy independence efforts,” said Charles Freese, executive director of GM Fuel Cell Activities. “In Hawaii, we’re working with our partners to ensure that fuel cell vehicles and the necessary hydrogen refueling infrastructure come to market at the same time.”
GM operates the world’s largest fuel cell vehicle fleet, with more than 115 vehicles worldwide accumulating more than 2.4 million miles. U.S. Army, Pacific, U.S. Pacific Fleet, U.S. Pacific Air Forces and U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Pacific, are testing 16 Chevrolet Equinox fuel cell vehicles in Hawaii in an effort to research efficient, clean and renewable energy sources and reduce the U.S. military’s dependence on petroleum. These vehicles will be serviced at GM’s new hydrogen fuel cell vehicle service center in Honolulu.
A fuel cell electric vehicle uses hydrogen stored in the vehicle fuel tank to create electricity that drives the vehicle. It consumes no petroleum, produces zero harmful tailpipe emissions, and can be refueled in as few as three minutes with long-range operation of up to 300 miles per charge.
In addition to The Gas Company and GM, Hawaii Hydrogen Initiative partners include the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism; U.S. Department of Energy; FuelCell Energy; Aloha Petroleum Ltd; Louis Berger Group; U.S. Pacific Command, which is supported by the U.S. Pacific Fleet, U.S. Pacific Air Forces, U.S. Army, Pacific, and U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Pacific; National Renewable Energy Laboratory; the County of Hawaii; the University of Hawaii; University of California-Irvine; and Proton Onsite.
More information about the Hawaii Hydrogen Initiative can be found online at www.hydrogen2hawaii.com.