Hydrogen fuel cell cars are set to arrive at dealerships in 2015. But while Germany and Japan have both announced plans to build 1000 hydrogen fueling stations, there are no plans in the U.S. to get a significant number of hydrogen fueling stations built.
Current approach not working
Up until this point, the primary focus has been on looking for the U.S. federal government, state governments, or oil companies to get the initial hydrogen fueling stations built in order for the hydrogen economy to be launched. This is the strategy that has been pursued for years.
And yet, the result is that very few hydrogen fueling stations have been built. At some point, the strategy needs to change. As Albert Einstein said, the definition of insanity is continuing to do the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.
Clearly, an entirely different approach to getting the hydrogen fueling stations built is needed. The solution is a viable business model that does not involve the U.S. federal government, state governments, or oil companies. The solution is hydrogen fueling station cooperatives.
Hydrogen fueling station cooperatives
The idea is for consumers to own the hydrogen fueling stations. A group of people who live near each other would agree to each buy a hydrogen fuel cell car and contribute to building a local hydrogen fueling station that everybody could use.
A large hydrogen fueling station that could provide enough fuel for 2000 hydrogen fuel cell cars (i.e. approximately 1000 to 1500 kilograms of hydrogen per day) would likely cost about $5 million.
Therefore, if 2000 people who live near each other built a hydrogen fueling station this way, each person would pay $2500 extra (which would be around $50-70 per month depending on the interest rate if financed over 5 years) when purchasing the car and would own 1/2000th of the station. For most people, this would likely be added to the cost of the hydrogen fuel cell car to make up one monthly car payment.
Customers would benefit from paying the extra $2500 by likely paying less per-mile for hydrogen versus gasoline (since there is a very good chance that gas prices will continue to rise over the next 5-10 years) and having a lower cost of hydrogen since the fueling station would not have to cover the cost of a loan on the facility. Furthermore, the hydrogen fueling station could eventually be sold to a company and each owner would receive 1/2000th of that amount.
While this concept can work with one hydrogen fueling station, it will likely first be utilized to build many hydrogen fueling stations that are located in different parts of a big city or region. This would allow customers to be able to refuel at many different locations instead of being limited to one.
Proposal: Southern California Hydrogen Fueling Station Cooperative
Today I am proposing the Southern California Hydrogen Fueling Station Cooperative to:
1. Get the first 50 large-scale hydrogen fueling stations built in the U.S. to provide hydrogen for 100,000 hydrogen fuel cell vehicles; and
2. Prove that the hydrogen fueling station cooperative concept is a viable business model to get the hydrogen fueling stations built that could be replicated across the U.S. and around the world.
The idea is that 50 large-scale hydrogen fueling stations that are financed by consumers would be built in Southern California by 2015. Every fueling station would be able to provide enough hydrogen for 2000 cars (i.e. approximately 1000 to 1500 kilograms of hydrogen per day). Therefore, 100,000 people in Southern California would need to agree to both purchase a hydrogen fuel cell car and pay $2500 extra to get the fueling stations built. Each person would own 1/100,000th of the group of 50 hydrogen fueling stations and could refuel at any of the stations.
There are five car companies that I see as being the most serious about hydrogen fuel cell cars. And they are Toyota, Hyundai/Kia, Daimler/Mercedes, Honda, and GM. In this scenario, the five companies would agree to build a total of 100,000 hydrogen fuel cell cars in 2015. Perhaps each of the five car companies would build 20,000 cars each. Or maybe some companies would produce more and others would produce less.
Southern California is the best place to do this, because this is where a large number of the hydrogen fuel cell cars are right now. The Southern California Hydrogen Fueling Station Cooperative would build upon the momentum that has already been generated and take it to the next level.
Furthermore, here is my best guess for how the 50 hydrogen fueling stations would be spread across Southern California:
24 in Los Angeles
8 in Orange County
8 in San Diego
10 more in the best remaining locations which might include Palm Springs, Santa Barbara, and in between Orange County and San Diego
This would give people a lot of hydrogen fueling options throughout Southern California.
Contact information
If you have any questions or want to be part of making the Southern California Hydrogen Fueling Station Cooperative a reality, you can e-mail me at gblencoe (at) hydrogendiscoveries (dot) com.
[Photo credit: ideowl]
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