GM eyes Hawaii for hydrogen pilot

The Gas Co. of Hawaii said it will expand its product line to produce more hydrogen gas as part of an agreement announced Tuesday with General Motors to launch a pilot fuel cell vehicles project in the Islands.

Detroit-based General Motors, one of the largest automakers in the world, said it wants to build a network of hydrogen fueling stations to power fuel cell vehicles on Oahu by 2015.

The role of The Gas Co., which manufactures and delivers synthetic natural gas, including a small amount of hydrogen, will be to tap into its 1,000-mile-long utility pipeline system on Oahu at key locations and separate hydrogen for use in fueling stations.

The companies said a total of 20 to 25 fueling stations could be built at existing petroleum gas stations on Oahu with at least six stations in northwest Oahu and at least 15 in southeast metro areas.

“The infrastructure is very important because it does no good to put these technologies on the road if there’s no ability to fuel the vehicles,” Charlie Freese, executive director of GM Global Fuel Cell Activities, said in a teleconference Tuesday.

General Motors said it will cost approximately $300,000 to $500,000 to add hydrogen pumps to existing retail gas stations.

Read the full story in the Pacific Business News and additional coverage in Earth2Tech.