Design of a hydrogen community for Santa Monica

Hydrogen systems infrastructure development and fuel cell vehicles (FCVs) have the potential to replace the gasoline internal combustion engine vehicles thus increasing energy security and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Hydrogen fueling infrastructure development is critical for the commercialization and consumer acceptability of the FCVs, thus recognizing hydrogen as an affordable transportation fuel. This paper presents the conceptual design of a scalable and reproducible hydrogen fueling station in Santa Monica, California. The various hydrogen production technologies have been evaluated and the usage of renewable energy sources such as biogas and landfill gas has been emphasized. The technical specifications of the hydrogen fueling station components and the transportation of hydrogen fuel have been discussed. Cascade simulations were conducted for different compressor capacities and storage bank configurations. Hydrogen dispensing using the 3-bank cascade configuration has been discussed. Well-to-wheel analysis, comparing the emissions of harmful gases and total energy consumption of conventional gasoline engine vehicles and fuel cell vehicles, has been performed. Early market customers, including material handling vehicles, stationary back-up power and portable power systems have been identified and their daily hydrogen fuel requirements have been computed. This article discusses the safety codes and standards, identifies the significant failure modes and suggests precautionary measures to be taken to mitigate them. The economic impact of employing such hydrogen technologies has been studied --Abstract, page iv