Shell and GM to Establish a Fuel-Cell Fleet in New York City

February 2, 2005

Shell Hydrogen and General Motors Corporation (GM) announced on January 27th that they will build a hydrogen fueling station and a fleet of 13 fuel-cell vehicles in New York City next year. Shell already has a hydrogen-fueling station in Washington, D.C., and plans to build another fueling station between the two cities to establish an "East Coast Corridor" for hydrogen fueling. The effort is part of DOE's Infrastructure Validation and Demonstration Project, which is managed by DOE's Hydrogen, Fuel Cells and Infrastructure Technologies Program. See the Shell press release.

Photo of Governor Pataki shaking hands with Koichi Kondo in front of a Honda FCX, with the state capitol in the background.

Governor Pataki accepts a Honda FCX from American Honda president Koichi Kondo in Albany.
Credit: Honda

New York may eventually have an east-west corridor for hydrogen fueling as well, thanks to two projects funded by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA). Hydrogen fueling stations will be built in Buffalo and Albany as part of the state's efforts to develop a sustainable hydrogen economy. The Buffalo installation will fuel several light-duty vehicles with internal combustion engines modified to run on hydrogen. The Albany site will fuel two Honda FCX fuel-cell vehicles, provided by American Honda Motor Company, Inc. The two projects, worth a total of $5.2 million, were announced by Governor George Pataki in late December. See the governor's press release and the press release from Honda.

In related news, GM is joining with DOE's Sandia National Laboratories to develop advanced hydrogen-storage technologies for vehicles. Under a four-year, $10-million program, GM and Sandia will develop and test fuel tanks that store hydrogen in a solid form, as sodium aluminum hydride. See the Sandia press release.