GM developing home-based hydrogen filling station

If you're tired of waiting for your neighborhood gas station to bust out a hydrogen pump for filling up your fuel cell vehicle that you bought on the black market, have no fear. GM is prepping a hydrogen refueling station that can be set up in your home, and is powered off of electricity or sunlight. The expectation is that early adopters will be able to fill up their own vehicles at home while they wait for the hydrogen infrastructure to be built out. Honda has had already built a similar system, and it looks like it'll be a long while until we can find that sweet, sweet hydrogen nectar at our corner pump, so this might be the best we're going to get for a while. GM also recently announced that they're prepping 100 fuel cell-based Chevrolet Equinox SUVs to be put in the hands of "consumers" (i.e. 100 highly visible, photogenic and PR-friendly people) across the US. As for a publicly available fuel cell vehicle, it looks like you'll have to wait until 2011 to have a legitimate excuse to pick up one of these refueling stations.

[Via AutoblogGreen]

[Tom @ Jun 8th 2008 9:58PM]

I walk to and from work, about an hour each way. It's good exercise and, as I pass by a lake, there's nice scenery too. Near the center I pass by an 'express' way which is routinely jammed with cars; it looks like a vein that can't handle the blood flow requirement. There's horns blaring and quite often crashes so that some 50 per cent or so of cars have damage to their lacquered shell. A pall of pollution heats the air ... luckily for me, I swing away from there and head into the trees towards my place. Lately, there's been a 41% fuel price increase for all those drivers to stomach. Even though I walk, I quite often dream about some kind of solar powered floating bubble carousel-type transport which might waft me to work at a pleasant 4-10k/hour with a wifi port and some glossy racing lines to impress chicks ... anything more is just greed.

[Charles Carlisle @ Sep 2nd 2008 3:01PM]

Batteries are not the answer. It takes too long to charge them, they wear out in a couple years and the cars have to be completely redesigned, not to mention, they cost a lot. Burning corn will not work either, all that will do is starve the poorest.
Hydrogen is produced by boiling water. We all have the ability to do that at home. The oil companies are very afraid of this because they don't get a cut if we do. It is easier to make hydrogen than any other means of fueling cars. Your old 1984 chevy can be modified to burn hydrogen, which has 4 times the fuel economy of gasoline. Water is the most abundant substance on earth and guess what is left behind when hydrogen is burned? More Water.
Hydrogen is the answer, especally if we use solar and wind to boil the water in the first place. I'm not a green nut. I like a good deer steak as much as Ted Nugent but this is the answer. For those who hate the oil companies and the Arab nations we are pumping all our money to, This is the answer.

[pbase @ Oct 4th 2006 12:42AM]

Despite the fact that real implementation of this is years away, you have to admit that it would be really sweet to have an in-house gas station.

[Danny @ Oct 4th 2006 2:24AM]

you mean hydrogen station :)

[Deezee @ Oct 4th 2006 1:54AM]

Does it serve drinks too? It looks like a soda machine.

[Chase @ Oct 4th 2006 1:19AM]

...is this going to be leased so they can take it back if it disrupts the economy, like they did with the EV's?

Hope not.

[Reg @ Oct 4th 2006 2:13AM]

Let's hope that Sony has had no role in making these rechargeable stations!

An exploding laptop battery sucks, but an exploding hydrogen cell, well...that's a lot worse.


Seriously, how is a home-based Hydrgen station even safe? What next, a home nuclear reactor core DIY kit?!

[nathaniel @ Oct 4th 2006 2:28AM]

looks safer than a gas stove, sweetie.

[JLW @ Apr 24th 2008 9:40PM]

Why don't you just go bury your head in the sand Mr negative. You have to worry more about the meth labs exploding in greater numbers as there will be more of them when people cannot afford to fill their tanks.

[ragnar @ Oct 4th 2006 2:23AM]

But does it have a reciprocation dingle-arm to reduce sinusoidal deplenoration?

[Alternative Energy Blog @ Oct 4th 2006 3:18AM]

"Despite the fact that real implementation of this is years away, you have to admit that it would be really sweet to have an in-house gas station."

We already have an in-house refueling station, it's called an electric socket.

And the car that runs on it isn't a prototype from GM, but a production car from Tesla Motors.

see:
www.teslamotors.com

James
Alternative Energy Blog

[Jason @ Oct 4th 2006 3:22AM]

It is probably about as safe as having a propane tank or gas line running to your house. I say bring it on!!

[Sean @ Oct 4th 2006 3:30AM]

http://www.switch2hydrogen.com/

'nuff said.

[Runnin @ Oct 4th 2006 3:35AM]

Fuel companies are happy to push the hydrogen economy. Why? Because it is a controllable system i.e. they will control the taps. These home stations are just to get the hydrogen ball rolling, but once enough of their commercial hydrogen filling stations come online, these things will be legistated and priced into oblivion. Don't beleive me? Well, despite the fact that hydrogen is a 'one size fits all uses', they're already planning to 'grade',just like there pricing structures of petroleum i.e. "regular" fuel and "premium" fuels. Just look at this picture http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.autobloggreen.com/media/2006/09/nf---gm---hpump2.jpg . Thats right, they are actually going to DILUTE the pure fuel to extract more money by selling the undiluted (or less diluted) version as "premium" or "performance" hydrogen, despite that all you would REALLY nead for more performance is to make the fuel cell sip the hydrogen faster. Hah!

Don't buy into the 'Hydrogen Hype'. It's only goal is to maintain the current fuel supply dynamics, which as we know all too well, puts all the power into the corporations hands, and they then put it firmly into your pocket.

Again, don't buy into the 'Hydrogen Hype'. Now here's the truth, the REAL promise lies with batteries and supercapacitors. Battery technology is advancing so fast today that buy the time that even the minimal viable amount of the hydrogen-based infrastructure is in place, batteries and supercaps will offer FAR greater performance,range and reliability than any of todays internal combustion engines or even tomorrows hydrogen technologies. And the infrastucture won't cost a cent, because it's ALREADY THERE!

Just think how little the 'hydrogen economy' has to offer when compared to batteries and supercapacitors!

[Thomas @ Feb 7th 2007 7:53AM]

The fuel pump showing supposedly "diluted hydrogen" simply delivers gaseous hydrogen at two different pressure levels (350 and 700 bar).

[Tom W @ Oct 4th 2006 3:50AM]

This is kind of like the Apple iPod/iTunes business model.

GM wants to supply the hardware AND the content.

If GM decides to build the hydrogen infrastructure in addition to these home based units THEN we might be getting somewhere. It might not be a bad idea. The company that does things FIRST usually winds up with the largest market share.

[Edward K. @ Oct 4th 2006 10:06AM]

i think its more of the company who does it first AND best. cuz apple wasn't the first mp3 player. they just blew everything that was already in the market away with their ipod.

[Sean @ Oct 4th 2006 4:14AM]

Is the infrastructure really there for electric cars? Think about the rolling blackouts we've been plagued with in recent years, now imagine the demand on an already taxed system if everyone was plugging their car into that system.

[michael @ Oct 4th 2006 6:32AM]

sean: you'll charge your car at night, energy useage is comparatively tiny after midnight, this actually causes the energy suppliers problems.
If you are interested you may want to look at
www.esb.ie/main/about_esb/grid_daily.jsp
it even shows seasonal demand.

[Chris the marketer @ Oct 4th 2006 5:20AM]

I dunno about this. Won't this slow the creation of energy cell gas stations? Of course this "home fuel system" will probably be a 100K - so are we just talking about Leonardo DiCaprio's energy cell?

Plus the article on Batteries - problem there is most of our power comes from coal. I don't know if Hydrogen production is any better - but I know electricity production isn't much better then driving a gas car. . .

[Oddmanout @ Oct 4th 2006 7:48AM]

As far as having a hydrogen producing apparatus in your home being prohibitively dangerous, there a tons of science experiment kits aimed at kids 12 and up that allow you to produce hydrogen in your own home. Of course the units featured in this article produce substantially more gas, but I doubt it will take much more care to keep from exploding them than it does to keep from exploding the science kits. Which is aparently a feat deemed possible for a 12 year old child.

As for larger question of fuel cells...

Well...I suppose the infrustructure has to start somewhere. And in 'supply and demand' it's a costly gamble to start with supply and hope for demand. So I suppose it makes sense for early adopters to be mildly self sufficient.

But there's a serious flaw in this model. You won't be able to go very far from home, as home will be your only source of fuel. Not a huge problem for multi-car households, but that doesn't describe everyone.

But this limitation will make potential buyers hesitant to invest so much in a car whose use is severely limited. Which means these vehicles will remain rare even when they become available, which will stifle growth in demand for hydrogen at the filling station...which will slow the spread of hydrogen availability in a downward spiral leading back to gasoline.

As things stand now I tend to think electric cars will win out as the alternative energy source for automobiles. Because hybrids address this very concern. They can run entirely on gasoline, just like any other conventional car. So even if you can find a place to plug in (not that all hybrids offer that as a recharge option) you still have all the utility of a 'normal' car.

If cars that run purely off hydrogen are to succeed, it will take a very carefully planned marketing and distribution strategy. These cars would need to be heavily marketed in and around areas with HUGE poppulations of commuters. ie In the suburbs around major cities. The auto industry/vehicle manufacturers will probably need to make deals with various petrol companys to have gas stations on both ends of the commute provide hydrogen. BIG price incentives will also need to be offered along with already low sticker prices at the dealership will be REQUIRED to get people to buy the vehicles. Tax breaks from the government would help as well. ie, these new fuel cell vehicels need to be cheap enough to buy and run that people can afford to keep their old gasoline cars around for if they want to go farther than half a talk of hydrogen will allow.

Also, the types of vehicles offered initially will have to feed into this commute centric model. Remember the Honda CRX ? A tiny little 2 seater with tons of cargo space ? Now imagine every one of those needlessly huge SUVs you see in the morning commute with 1 person in them replaced with one of those, running on a fuel cell. The SUV stays in the garage or driveway until it's time to go on vacation. (Which will cause most peoplet o realize that they only fully utilize it 2 - 3 times a year, which will help people realize they are wasting money on these machines...)

If they can get THAT going, the hydrogen infrastructure will branch out from that commute area, and then more traditional sedans and passenger vehicles will sell with fuel cell technology.

It's either something like that, hybrids, or a mad scramble to build the infrastucture AFTER the oil runs out.

And knowing the way things go in the US, I rather expect the later...

[Pacey @ Oct 4th 2006 10:08AM]

As the article states, Honda has been working on this as well. Also, they have been working on an "add on" home hydrogen fuel cell that would provide the electricty for your house. Imagine not only being able to fill up your car at home, but also locally powering your home instead of being on a main electrical grid.

Sign me up for that.

[Saluki @ Oct 4th 2006 10:18AM]

Hmmm.. Make hydrogen at home. What could go wrong?

When it comes to which machine I want to make the highly explosive gas in my home I will probably side with Honda on this one.

[nathaniel @ Oct 4th 2006 2:07PM]

if you have a water heater in your home, then you already have a machine that deals with a highly explosive substance, and is continually bringing the substance into your home on a daily basis. and, once again, you if you have a gas stove, there's definitely safety concerns there too. a gas stove, hmm, what could go wrong?

[LM @ Oct 4th 2006 6:40PM]

4 years from now maybe? That is too long.
I have a Alternative Fuel Vehicle (AFV) that I re-fuel in my garage right now.
It is a Honda Civic GX http://www.civicgx.com and is refueled at ~$1 a gallon overnight by Phill http://www.myphill.com

[Murc @ Oct 5th 2006 1:09AM]

hmmmm.
I think I would prefer electric cars more.
That way "filling it up" is much much cheaper, and the price doesn't fluxuate because of some middle east garbage. Hell, Theres a growing market for personal power methods, like having your own solar panels on your roof or a mini wind turbine in your backyard.

But at the very least at least electric cars...even if I plug them into the grid, which is powered by coal...I mean...The US has anough coal to last around 250 years...why shouldn't we use it.

[BatteryAcid @ Oct 4th 2006 8:37PM]

They habve had these for awile, but their damn expensive.
http://www.switch2hydrogen.com/

[Eric @ Jan 25th 2007 9:10PM]

Hi batteryacid!

This really is old news. I personally think switchtohydrogen.com is just another in the long line of "look hydrogen works and will be available in May 2006 so be on the lookout..."(i.e.: BS)sites. This site is real. I met the owner, seen a couple of vehicles. He lives in SLC, Utah and has to out of state to get H2. As I said in my post, if GM was serious, it could put this into production.

[Bert @ Oct 28th 2006 5:45PM]

I have this to say about that: The ocean is largely about 38 trillion gallons of pre-mixed saline solution, salinity varies, could be 'tuned by adding fresh water as necessary to find the optimum balance, and the wind blows at the shore, most days. So, take your hydrogen manufacturing plant, and install it at the coast, with a windmill running it.

As far as the home hydrogen makers, you can 'demo' hydrogen production with a 12v battery, 2 wires, and a glass of water. We're not splittin' the atom here, just a couple of water molecules...WHY it's taken GM or any of the other in the Big 3 to get off their hineys and do this is a head-scratcher, but I'm happy to see SOMEthing besides 50 more years of oil-company government...

[JOHN @ Jan 9th 2007 12:59AM]

people think hydrogen is so dangerous because of the hindenburg, which exploded because they painted it with rocket fuel ignited by static discharge, its no more dangerous than us filling up our cars at a filling station above thousands of gallons

[Matthew @ Dec 8th 2006 2:54PM]

FYI
Honda is preparing to sell a production model fuel cell vehicle in 2008. We should lobby our state governments to put these fuel stations along major state thorougfares. I'd like to see a partnership of all the states from Massachusetts down to Virginia to put these Hydrogen Fuel Stations along the i-95 corridor in the megalopolis.

[Eric @ Jan 25th 2007 9:00PM]

Sorry, not impressed. As it turns out this is really old-school technology. I think this machine could be production ready in two years if GM was serious. Demand appears to be in place. Why not support it. I would buy a GM car today if it ran on Hydrogen and there was a hydrogen source. Again, if GM was serious and willing to leave it's status quo malaise, it wouldn't have to worry about shrinking market share.

Let the market know when you're serious.

[David @ Mar 22nd 2007 11:51AM]

This hydogen generating station for home use is a great idea. Do you think you could hook it up to a windmill to be run by windpower as well as sulight solar power??? This combination may well serve to liberate these devices from the electric power line. If a fuel cell was incorporated into into this unit electricty could be produced from hydrogen as need to power the new electric cars and vehicles that are coming on line. What do you think??????????

[Kevin @ Oct 4th 2007 8:08AM]

Fueling up your hydrogen car from home would be really cool, but there are other benfits...

With a view to maximizing efficiency, I wonder if the device is designed to be in any way connected to a home's hot water and/or general heating.

Generating hydrogen from electricy presumably involves some loss of energy.

I'd guess that most of this waste energy would take the form of heat in the water that the hydrogen electrolysis was occuring in.

Why not therefore use the hot water in home heating? This could be done either directly into a homes hot water system (or the system could even replace a standard hot water system) or if chemicals added to improve the electrolysis preclude this then the heat could surely still be captured indirectly.

It may be an obvious statement, but I find it exciting that if a fuel cell and wind an/or solar power were also added to this system, a home could be truly "off grid". The home could store excess energy generated from wind or solar power when household requirements are lower than energy production. Conversely it could release the stored energy when it's requirements are higher than the home is capable of producing.

[Mike @ Nov 10th 2007 5:56PM]

people are all ready implimenting home versions. simply by putting a charge of dc through a canister of water, (with some added parts of course). generateing their own hygrogen in small yet efficient quantities. Pipeing directly to the manifold or injector body for running the engine.
Simply search Homemade hygrogen.. LOTS of youtube videos..

MMMmmm Big companies can't regulate all uses ;;lol.