Just 27 hydrogen refueling stations were installed in 2012, globally
Posted Apr 10th 2013
The Hydrogen Superhighway isn't much more than a dirt path right now,
with just 27 hydrogen refueling stations installed in the entire world
last year, Green Car Reports says, citing Fuel Cell Today.
North America was home to eight new hydrogen stations, and five stations
were added in Germany. The 27 stations mark a 15-percent increase from
2011 totals.
While automakers such as Toyota, Mercedes-Benz and Hyundai have said
they will start selling fuel-cell cars by 2015, the apparent benefits of
hydrogen – gasoline-vehicle-like driving range and zero emissions (water
vapor, technically) – have been outweighed by the high costs of
developing both hydrogen fuel-cell cars and the required refueling
stations. Last month, Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn
discounted the possibility of developing fuel-cell vehicles and
infrastructure at a sustainable cost.
Still, while the Obama Administration originally cut hydrogen fuel cell
funding compared to federal investment during the George W. Bush
administration, H2 funding may rise again thanks to a project called
H2USA, Automotive News
reported last month. The government's H2-push is joined by Daimler,
Ford and Nissan, which said in January that
they'd work together to accelerate the development of fuel-cell
powertrain technology.
As of March 25,
the US
Department of Energy counted 58 hydrogen stations nationwide,
including 24 in California.
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