Shell Chief Strews Tacks on Hydrogen Highway

Widespread use of hydrogen as an automotive fuel is anywhere from a decade to 25 years in the future, says the president of Shell Oil's U.S. operation.

Obstacles to hydrogen are mainly infrastructure-related and include the difficulty in converting retail gas stations to dispense the fuel in either liquid or gaseous form, Shell 's John Hofmeister told a Sacramento, Calif., audience Monday at a conference on low-carbon fuels.

His remarks were reported by Greenwire, a subscription news service.

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has pushed for development of a so-called hydrogen highway in his state, saying a series of hydrogen filling stations linking California's main population centers would help speed introduction of hydrogen fuel-cell electric vehicles.

But Hofmeister, who is retiring in July, said building that highway "is going to be a long, drawn-out process. These infrastructure issues are going to continue getting in the way."

His comments appeared to be a response to a call for increased development of hydrogen stations by fuel providers that was issued earlier this month by General Motors Corp.'s strategic planning chief Larry Burns.

Burns, in an interview with Green Car Advisor before speaking before the National Hydrogen Association's annual conference, said a nationwide hydrogen station system is "economically viable and doable" and a necessary first step to persuade automakers there will be fuel to support production of hydrogen cars and trucks.

Hofmeister said the challenge is convincing owners of service station franchises that they should make the investments needed to add hydrogen storage and dispensing equipment.

He also questioned those who want Shell and other energy companies to use existing industrial hydrogen operations as interim fueling stations for vehicles. Such sites are not ideal because they aren't usually in population centers where consumers traditionally fill up.

A spokesman for the National Hydrogen Association told Greenwire that emerging markets are an important means to break down consumer resistance accepting hydrogen as an alternative to gasoline.

Wal-Mart, Michelin, Bridgestone and the Defense Department have recently converted warehousing operations to use of hydrogen-powered forklifts, said spokesman Patrick Serfass.

"Saying it's going to be a long, drawn-out process is not the way I would put it," he said. "There are a lot of emerging markets that are helping to lower the cost of these technologies and helping to build other parts of the hydrogen infrastructure."

But it’s a long way from forklifts to freeways.

Until automakers and fuel makers can agree on direction, we're more likely to have hydrogen backroads than a hydrogen highway.

And fuel cell vehicles are more likely to be found in development labs than on dealers' lots.

John O'Dell, Senior Editor

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John O'Dell April 16, 2008, 11:08 AM

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Alternative Fuels, Fuel Cell, Hydrogen