Schwarzenegger's Hydrogen Highway Initiative

Schwarzenegger's Hydrogen Highway Initiative



April 2008  - California is seeking 
experienced and qualified teams to compete for part of $7.7 million that 
will be spent to construct and improve hydrogen-fueling stations in the 
Los Angeles and San Francisco areas. 
The Air Resources Board is dispensing the funds to advance Governor Arnold 
Schwarzenegger's Hydrogen Highway initiative that is promoting the 
creation of a hydrogen refueling network. 
Currently, there are 24 hydrogen stations operating in California, with 
more planned, and there are at least 209 hydrogen powered vehicles 
operating throughout the state. 

The state is pursuing a transition to clean energy and energy diversity by 
promoting automobile manufacturers' and energy companies' efforts to 
employ hydrogen as a power source for vehicles and electricity production. 

"We are shifting California's economy to clean energy and hydrogen plays 
an important role," said Air Resources Board Chairman Mary Nichols. "We 
have burgeoning technologies that use hydrogen to power vehicles and in 
the future could provide electricity for homes. 
"The increased use of hydrogen in the transportation sector would 
diversify California's energy sources and reduce harmful smog forming and 
climate changing emissions," Nichols said. 
The new funding follows Air Resources Board's recent amendments to the 
Zero Emission Vehicle program, which forces auto manufacturers to place 
7,500 zero emission vehicles on the road by 2014. 
Some of these will be fuel cell vehicles dependent on readily available 
sources of hydrogen. 
Hydrogen can provide energy with minimal-to-zero pollution. When produced 
from a clean renewable source - such as water, wind, sun, biomass or 
biogas - and used in fuel cells, hydrogen use has extremely small impacts 
on the environment. 
Compared to today's average gasoline-powered vehicle, hydrogen fuel cell 
vehicles produce 50 percent less greenhouse gases and 40-90 percent less 
smog-forming and toxic emissions, even when powered by hydrogen produced 
from natural gas, currently the most common method. 
The application deadline for funds is June 13, 2008. For more information 
and guidelines for applying go here and in the agency option select Air 
Resources Board.

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