Is hydrogen refueling coming to Washington State?

 Hydrogen as a future fuel for automobiles. Is it feasible? Douglas County is proving whether it is with their hydrogen generation facility in east Wenatchee. The Douglas County PUD will sell hydrogen to industrial customers and local vehicle owners. 

Douglas County PUD will have a hydrogen fueling station built near the Douglas County PUD headquarters in East Wenatchee. So yes, you'll be able to fuel your hydrogen car or semi tractor at this facility.  

But there is more coming. 

A company, called Plug Power Incorporated, has been awarded money by the US government to research, design and construct the next generation hydrogen fueling systems and Infrastructure. 

According to finance.yahoo.com,
‘In partnership with Washington State University (WSU), the University of Maryland at College Park, and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Plug will develop a high-flow, direct-fill hydrogen fueling station.’  

Hydrogen for fuel in vehicles has been around for a long time, just not in the United States.  

The idea of hydrogen powered cars goes back to 1807. Several innovations later during 1941 Russia converted 200 trucks to run on hydrogen because of fuel shortages. In 1966, a model A was converted to hydrogen using the conventional combustion engine in the Vehicle. It is said to be especially impressive since it was a high school project. 

Many discoveries and innovations later in 1996 America launched the Hydrogen Future Congressional Act. In 1999, the first publicly usable hydrogen refueling station in Europe was created in Hamburg Germany. 

In 2003, the first public hydrogen refueling station was constructed in Iceland. It was used to fuel a few personal cars and a small fleet of buses. The station was closed four years later.  

You can buy a hydrogen-powered car from Toyota, but unless you live in the Wenatchee Valley, you will have no place to fuel it.  

Hundreds of millions of dollars in research and development have been put into the concept. Of a hydrogen fuel powered personal vehicle. so why aren't hydrogen powered vehicles everywhere across the United States.  

Well, the answer to me seems simple. It's not economically feasible to have a mass-produced hydrogen consumer vehicle yet. On the flip side, it is more than economically feasible to have hydrogen powered commercial trucks. 

Plug Power incorporated in Washington state University hope to make hydrogen fuel feasible for all vehicles. 

Let's hope they're successful. 

Plug Awarded $10 Million DOE Grant to Lead Development of Advanced Hydrogen Refueling Station in Washington State (yahoo.com)
Selections for Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office Funding Opportunity Announcement to Advance the National Clean Hydrogen Strategy | Department of Energy