{"id":4693,"date":"2021-03-31T15:05:50","date_gmt":"2021-03-31T19:05:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.respectmyplanet.org\/publications\/?p=4693"},"modified":"2026-01-03T10:59:42","modified_gmt":"2026-01-03T15:59:42","slug":"usa-canada-quarterly-h2-infrastructure-update-2021-q1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.respectmyplanet.org\/publications\/fuel-cells\/usa-canada-quarterly-h2-infrastructure-update-2021-q1","title":{"rendered":"USA & CANADA QUARTERLY H2 INFRASTRUCTURE UPDATE 2021-Q1"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Welcome new readers of RMP\u2019s quarterly H2 infrastructure report.  Each quarter we look back on the major stories related to hydrogen infrastructure advancements and we compare the current AFDC database to the AFDC database in the prior quarter to see what has changed.  The AFDC database is updated by the US Dept of Energy & can be found by clicking here<\/a>.  Canada added a new data repository for hydrogen stations in Q2-2020<\/a>.  The Canadian website is administered by Natural Resources Canada<\/a>.   RMP will continue to use the US Department of Energy database as our primary data source as we learn more about the Canadian database.  All this data (and more) goes into RMP\u2019s interactive map of hydrogen infrastructure in the USA & Canada you can see by clicking here<\/a>.  Ok, on with the report\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Navistar RH Series Truck will be fitted with two locally made GM Hydrotec fuel cell units and capable of 500+ miles of zero-emissions range in a 15 minute refueling time.\u00a0 We can expect to see these trucks on the road in 2022 & commercially available in 2024.\u00a0 (Click image to enlarge)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The big story this quarter was supposed to be Navistar Inc. announcing they plan to bring a fuel cell Class 8 longhaul truck to market in 2024 with prototypes on California roads beginning next year.  This news was made more interesting because the fuel cell stacks would be supplied locally by Detroit based General Motors.  This news became slightly overshadowed, however, when CAFCP updated the planned hydrogen refueling station data for the next round of hydrogen stations from the latest 2020 CEC funding round.  According to the data CAFCP uses to track station progress, almost all of the new planned stations will have a nameplate storage capacity of 1,600kg which is nearly 9x bigger than most of the<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

current Gen1 demonstration stations in California.   This means the first 41 stations funded in part by the CEC have an aggregate capacity of 7,690kg while the next 55 stations built or planned have an aggregate capacity of 66,400kg representing an 863% increase in capacity!   That\u2019s a big increase.   Let\u2019s dive in on both of these stories and then get to the numbers for Q1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Navistar & GM Partner To Build Hydrogen Fuel Cell Class 8 Trucks<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Navistar Inc. announced it intends to produce a zero-emission long haul truck using fuel cell systems supplied by General Motors and will have an International RH Series (pictured above) FCEV model commercially available in 2024.  J.B. Hunt Transport Inc., a longtime Navistar customer, will deploy some of the trucks in a pilot program beginning next year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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GM’s Hydrotec fuel cell system will be manufactured locally right here in Brownstown Michigan at GM’s joint venture with Honda Motors called Fuel Cell System Manufacturing LLC which was announced in January 2017 by GM’s Mark Reuss, Michigan Lt Governor Brian Calley, and Honda’s Toshiaki Mikoshiba.\u00a0 \u00a0Each fuel cell system will have 300 cells, provide 80kW of power, can be arrayed into 2 or or 3 units for more power, low precious metal content, a proprietary control unit that extends fuel cell life, battery life, and improves cold start performance in frigid temperatures. (Photo from GM website, click to enlarge)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAt Navistar, we are mindful that the next generation of trucks will be an important piece of an ecosystem solution, and zero-emissions vehicles do not take a one-size-fits all approach,\u201d CEO Persio Lisboa said. Navistar also is developing battery-electric trucks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

GM has 50 years of experience with fuel cells, Lisboa said, and is a \u201cperfect partner on the industrial side, with global leadership in the space.\u201d The RH Series FCEV will have a target range of 500-plus miles and a hydrogen fueling time of less than 15 minutes, according to the Lisle, Ill.-based truck maker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The truck will get its energy from two GM Hydrotec fuel cell power cubes. Each cube contains 300-plus hydrogen fuel cells along with thermal and power management systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the same time, Navistar took a minority stake in OneH2, a privately held company based in Longview, N.C., that will supply the needed hydrogen production, storage and delivery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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OneH2, a\u00a0North Carolina<\/span>\u00a0based hydrogen fuel production company with facilities in\u00a0California<\/span>, has been selected to supply zero emission hydrogen for a fleet of fuel cell electric trucks to be operated at the Ports of\u00a0Los Angeles<\/span>\u00a0and\u00a0San Diego<\/span>. The fleet of hydrogen powered on-road heavy trucks has been funded through a California Air Resources Board (CARB) grant with\u00a0$6.8M<\/span> of matched funds from CARB and the technology partners.\u00a0 OneH2 has also been selected by Navistar to supply hydrogen to its first hydrogen fuel cell vehicles powered with GM Hydrotec fuel cells.\u00a0 \u00a0You may remember OneH2 as the partner to Nuvera<\/a> on the East Coast working with Hyster-Yale forklift trucks.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

OneH2 plans to kick-start substantial hydrogen heavy-duty truck refueling infrastructure using its modular, scalable production units.  OneH2\u2019s hydrogen strategy has seen \u201cgreat success\u201d at warehouses to power forklifts, Lisboa said. \u201cWe have come up with a model that we believe can be highly successful, which is this decentralized way of distributing hydrogen at an affordable cost that can be expanded as demand grows.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

J.B. Hunt Transport Inc., a unit of Lowell, Ark.-based J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc., will operate an as yet unspecified number of the trucks in 2022 as part of a pilot program along dedicated routes and evaluate the fueling infrastructure, likely to be located at its customers\u2019 sites.  J.B. Hunt Transport Chief Operating Officer Nick Hobbs said, \u201cWe have over 521 unique locations across the U.S. that we could deploy them to. We have a lot of flexibility as we roll this out.\u201d  Lisboa called Navistar\u2019s approach to bringing a hydrogen fuel cell heavy-duty truck to market \u201cprobably the most integrated solution that is in North America.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere has been a lot of interest from a lot of our customers, in general, on how to do it,\u201d Lisboa said. \u201cBut the main question that always comes with that interest is \u2018How do we operate these units without the distribution of hydrogen?\u2019 [We believe] our solution will enable the technology, and that is why we are so excited.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Navistar spokesperson Bre Whalen said that Navistar\u2019s latest partnerships do not impact a project announced in November with Cummins Inc. and Werner Enterprises and $7 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Energy to develop and pilot a fuel cell-powered Class 8 truck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Sumitomo Corp partnering with OneH2 shows a milestone development in the hydrogen economy’s supply chain.\u00a0 Sumitomo (with an engineering center right here in Farmington Hills) started work on fuel cell components (rubber gaskets shown above) in 2000.\u00a0 In 2008, Sumitomo partnered with Toyota to make all the rubber gaskets in the Mirai fuel cell system.\u00a0 \u00a0These gaskets allowed the Mirai fuel cell to improve efficiency, longevity, and decrease in size.\u00a0 \u00a0That Sumitomo is now expanding relationships with other companies to work on fuel cell systems shows good organic growth in the hydrogen fuel cell supply chain.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

OneH2 was in the news this quarter in January related to investments from Houston Texas based Buckeye Partners<\/a>, Swiss based Trafigura<\/a>, Japan based Sumitomo Corporation<\/a>, and Eugene Oregon based Pape Group<\/a>.    This partnership of powerhouses centered on the energy capital of the world, Houston, makes Texas as a hydrogen player.  As RMP continues to document the growth of hydrogen infrastructure, we see developments all across North America.  The East Coast collectively will be coming on the hydrogen scene soon thanks to Air Liquide’s investment into multiple refueling stations & the 100% renewable hydrogen production facility in B\u00e9cancour, Quebec.  You can see Air Liquide’s East Coast refueling stations as well as the Quebec production facility on RMP’s map of North American hydrogen infrastructure<\/a>.   When you first load the map it only shows public retail refueling locations, but if you click the slide on the left, you can turn on & off different hydrogen location types, like the 100% renewable production facility in Quebec.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Generation 2 Hydrogen Refueling Stations – A Step Change in Scale<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Having followed hydrogen refueling infrastructure for several years now, RMP has learned that it\u2019s an awkward process of stops & starts.  The more you learn about hydrogen infrastructure development, the more the headache of tracking data makes sense but that doesn\u2019t make it any easier.  When the CEC funding (GFO-19-602) was approved and announced in RMP’s Q3-2020 report<\/a>, several stations were listed as proposed stations with names & addresses.  But, even the best intentions of planning a hydrogen station are not a guarantee the proposed location will end up being the actual location.  If you think about it, it makes perfect sense that during the planning & permitting stage of deciding on a new location there could be problems that force planners to come up with a different location than the originally planned location.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I had conversations with Ben Xiong from the CAFCP back in 2018 when he explained to me that the CAFCP is actually the group that supplies the DOE with hydrogen station data for the AFDC database which RMP uses to make our map of hydrogen station in North America<\/a>.  We are in that awkward stage right now where the stations in the AFDC database do not match the data CAFCP uses on their tracking spreadsheet<\/a> to monitor hydrogen station development.  This makes keeping RMP\u2019s map up to date a little trickier because the CAFCP spreadsheet is the best source of data in America to know what\u2019s really going on.  The reason it’s tricky to monitor the station locations right now is because there are so many under development right now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I pulled the data from the CAFCP spreadsheet, like every quarter, a stunning realization occurred:  all the new stations proposed in the new GFO-19-602 funding round are MONSTERS!  Most all of the proposed stations are in the pre-permitting & planning approval stage and most are 1,600kg capacity stations with a handful of 1,200kg & 900kg stations mixed in.   Collectively, the initial funding rounds of the first 41 stations had an aggregate capacity of 7,650 kilograms (avg = 188kg\/station).  The next 55 stations from CEC-2017 & CEC-2020 funding will have an aggregate capacity of 66,400 kilograms (avg = 1,207kg\/station).  Currently, regarding these 55 Gen2 hydrogen refueling stations, twelve of them are already open for retail business now, six of them are commissioning which means they\u2019ll be opening soon, two more are currently under construction, and the remaining 35 are in various stages of the approval process to site and build.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Think about those numbers for a minute\u2026  aggregate station capacity is about to skyrocket 863% from the 41 Gen1 stations to the next tranche of 55 Gen2 stations.   With roughly 8,000 FCEVs currently registered on California roads as of 12\/31\/2020, the upcoming station growth should allow for the number of FCEVs in California to grow by an order of magnitude over the next couple of years.  Air Liquide\u2019s new hydrogen liquefaction plant in Las Vegas will be a lynch pin in keeping these new upcoming stations replenished with hydrogen inventory.  RMP wrote about Air Liquide\u2019s upcoming 100% renewable liquid hydrogen production facility in last quarter\u2019s report<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Pictured above is the proposed plan from Stratos Fuel LLC for a hydrogen production & liquefaction plant in Victorville, California.\u00a0 You can see five 5 ton\/day electrolyzers & one 10 ton\/day Steam Methane Reformer showing a capacity of 35 tons\/day.\u00a0 CEQA received information on this project on January 21, 2021.\u00a0 You can read the documentation here.\u00a0 You can find this location on RMP’s map of hydrogen infrastructure<\/a>. Click image to enlarge.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A new 100% renewable hydrogen production & liquefaction facility was submitted to California\u2019s CEQA<\/a> site for consideration on January 21, 2021 (pictured above).   Stratos Fuel LLC proposes to construct the Renewable H2 Project, which will consist of the construction of a 100 percent renewable hydrogen electrolysis and steam methane reformation facility and associated professional office campus.  The proposed Project will be constructed on approximately 10.38 acres of previously developed land located north-northwest of the intersection of Perimeter Road and Phantom East in the city of Victorville, San Bernardino County, California.  The purpose of the Project will be to produce gas and liquid hydrogen for distribution to local and regional hydrogen fueling stations for use in electric fuel cell vehicles.  Stratos LLC submitted their paperwork to CEQA on January 21, 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other Hydrogen Infrastructure Happenings 2021-Q1:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

America\u2019s first #Hydrail (or hydrogen railroad) project took another step forward this quarter.  The Arrow Maintenance Facility (AMF) Hydrogen Fuel Upgrade Project  paperwork was filed with CEQA on March 1, 2021.  This new proposed project would include reconfiguration of the existing AMF to allow for the integration and operation of a zero-emission multiple unit (ZEMU) train vehicle in the southern portion of the AMF. Improvements to the AMF maintenance building would include ventilation and air conditioning; spark proofing on electrical wiring; battery charging outside of the maintenance building; installation of a H2 detection system; and a H2 refueling pad. The H2 refueling pad would consist of a storage tank, paved pad, and conversion container.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Crews working on America’s first #Hydrail rail project at the Mountain View Road crossing on March 22, 2021.\u00a0 RMP wrote about this hydrogen rail\u00a0 project here<\/a> if you want to learn more about it.\u00a0 You can also find the 9 mile hydrogen train rout on RMP’s map of North American hydrogen infrastructure<\/a> by zooming in on San Bernadino, California.\u00a0 According to the most recent update from the SBCTA on March 29, 2021,\u00a0 the 9 mile corridor is almost 90% complete and all bridges are 100% complete.\u00a0 (Photo from SBCTA<\/a>).<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Also in Q1-2021, Air Products filed paperwork with CEQA to construct a hydrogen pipeline extension.  The proposed project would construct 0.5 miles of new pipeline within the City of Carson and connect this newly constructed segment with 11.5 miles of existing pipeline, which would be repurposed for hydrogen distribution from its existing hydrogen production facilities located in Wilmington and Carson to the Paramount Refinery. The project route will initiate in the City of Carson and terminate in the City of Paramount. The project route will traverse small portions of the City of Los Angeles and County of Los Angeles.  This hydrogen will be used to produce 3,500 barrels of renewable diesel & jet fuel per day from beef tallow and vegetable oils.  The project would eliminate the need for five to seven tanker trucks of liquid hydrogen per day.  This pipeline is very near & directly north of where Toyota\u2019s Project Portal is going on at the Ports of Long Beach & Los Angeles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New H2 Stations Opened To The Public 2021 Q1:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Shell Hydrogen Berkeley. Find it on RMP’s map of hydrogen infrastructure<\/a>.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

On January 12, 2021 – The Berkeley Hydrogen Station opened to the public<\/a>.  This is one more station using 100% renewable H2 bring the North American total of 100% renewable hydrogen stations to 17.  The station has a 400kg capacity on HRS spreadsheet & listed as 560kg on CAFCP blog.  This station has two fueling positions and is operated by Shell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some big stations are commissioning and will be opening as soon as Q2-2021:<\/p>\n\n\n\n