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The Airport Commission for the City and County of San Francisco will contract with Linde, LLC to construct a new stand-alone hydrogen fueling dispenser, a canopy and additional compression capacity for a hydrogen fueling station at the San Francisco International Airport (SFO) near Millbrae. With Energy Commission funding, the capacity of the station will be upgraded so that, at full demand, it will provide approximately 240 kilograms of hydrogen per day, enough to fuel approximately 240 fuel cell vehicles daily.

Based on surveys of automakers, more than 250 fuel cell vehicles should be operating in Northern California by 2014. The lack of available hydrogen fueling stations is a major hurdle in promoting fuel cell vehicles. This is due in part to the high station cost, as well as the large footprint of a typical hydrogen fueling station. Linde developed a modular concept for hydrogen fueling that places hydrogen production equipment at a central filling facility instead of at each fueling station, reducing the footprint and cost of individual stations. The hydrogen fuel is liquefied at the central station, then delivered to the retail dispensers and vaporized on demand.

Grant Amount

$567,003 in Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program funds. This project received previous funding from other parties, including Linde, LLC, and the California Air Resources Board.

Project Participants

The City and County of San Francisco Airport Commission owns and operates San Francisco International Airport, the tenth busiest airport in the United States as of 2009.

Linde, LLC is a global leader in hydrogen production, distribution and supply, with more than 100 years of experience in industrial gas. Linde has extensive experience in the installation and upkeep of hydrogen fueling stations worldwide, including several projects in California.

Project Benefits

This project, along with other hydrogen fueling stations in the greater Los Angeles and Northern California regions, will help to create a network of hydrogen fueling stations that will accelerate the introduction of fuel cell vehicles into the marketplace. Fuel cell vehicles produce zero tailpipe emissions and will reduce lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions by 44 percent compared to a conventional gasoline vehicle. Based on the estimated number of vehicles using the facility through 2020, this Linde hydrogen fueling station will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 1,055 metric tons of CO2 and displace 195,089 gallons of gasoline. Additionally, more than one-third of the hydrogen fuel that Linde will deliver to this station will be produced from renewable feedstocks. The project will create approximately 62 jobs in California.

Grant Agreement Number: ARV-10-036