Fill 'er up with hydrogen

THOUSAND PALMS - Coachella Valley businesses and consumers will soon be getting their own pit stop on California's budding "Hydrogen Highway."
Officials of SunLine Transit Agency and Illinois-based technology provider HyRadix on Thursday formally launched expanded services that will let valley drivers fuel up with hydrogen.
A $1.2 million upgrade, completed in August, is initially aimed at fueling alternative-technology vehicles operated by SunLine, the valley's public transit agency.
Eventually, valley motorists will be allowed to fuel up at SunLine's Thousand Palms facility, but the exact date has not been set.
SunLine's is the nation's first large-scale hydrogen facility for third-party commercial and consumer use, officials said.
"This is a historic day because this is going from research to reality," said Riverside County Supervisor Roy Wilson, who's also a member of SunLine's governing board and vice president of the board overseeing the Southern California Air Quality Management District.
Major automakers have begun producing vehicles that run on hydrogen fuel cell technology, including Honda, Toyota, Mitsubishi and Ford, and consumer demand has been rising.
According to SunLine, there are about 1,000 privately owned alternate-fueled vehicles in the valley. That number is expected to rise in coming years as prices for alternative-fueled vehicles come down.
The upgraded hydrogen production and fueling facility is vital to expanding alternative fuel use in the valley and California, in turn reducing auto emissions and boosting air quality, officials said.
It follows similar programs already operating in the San Francisco Bay Area and Santa Clara Valley, where technology is being used in public transit and is being extended for commercial use.
According to SunLine maintenance director Tommy Edwards, the enhanced technology will allow the transit agency to produce about 200 gallons of hydrogen per day, from a process that makes use of compressed natural gas. Previously, the agency could produce about 120 gallons a day.
SunLine will also be generating revenues from the sale of alternative fuels. In August, SunLine took full ownership of two local compressed natural gas fueling stations - dubbed SunFuels - which it previously co-owned with a private company.
SunLine officials estimate that station ownership will bring around $500,000 in new annual revenue, to support local transit infrastructure and services.
Using technology provided by HyRadix, the hydrogen fueling expansion was funded 50-50 through grants from the Federal Transit Administration and the regional air-quality agency.
Similar funding helped SunLine recently buy two hydrogen-fueled buses.