Toyota, Shell open first pipeline-fed hydrogen fuel station

While many green vehicles like the Nissan Leaf and Chevy Volt are making electric vehicles a popular option for environmentally conscious consumers, Toyota's hydrogen fuel cell technology has been slowly making headway in the world of zero-emission transportation. In a partnership with Shell, the car maker took a big step yesterday towards making fuel cell vehicles more practical by opening the first pipeline-fed hydrogen station in the country. 

The station, located in Torrance, California, is situated directly across from Toyota's sales and marketing headquarters and will fuel all of the company's local hydrogen test vehicles, as well as fleet vehicles from all around the Los Angeles. The fueling depot will function as a model for other possible hydrogen outlets across the country and is designed to demonstrate how easy a line-fed station can be operated. Eliminating the need for costly, messy tankers, line-fed stations get their fuel directly from hydrogen processing locations.

Toyota has been actively testing fuel cell vehicles since 2002, and while the technology is extremely promising, the cost of producing — and hence, buying — hydrogen vehicles prohibits mass-market appeal. The company anticipates the introduction of consumer-focused fuel cell lineups in 2015.

[Via: Jalopnik]

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