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Shell opens combination hydrogen and gasoline station in LA

Posted Jun 27th 2008 at 10:39AM by Sebastian Blanco

Filed under: Hydrogen, Green Daily



Finally, we've discovered the BMW Hydrogen 7's perfect refueling station. A new Shell station that sells both hydrogen and standard gasoline opened yesterday in West Los Angeles (oh so close to Hollywood, which is providing most of the the drivers for the dual-fuel luxury vehicle). The station is located on Santa Monica Boulevard and Federal Avenue, near I-405. If I'm not mistaken - and I might very well be, so feel free to say so in the comments - this is right near the recently-opened Tesla Motors store, which is kind of ironic.

New FCX Clarity drivers and participants in GM's Project Driveway should be able to refuel their cars at the station and feel pretty good about the provenance of their purchase. Shell will be selling hydrogen made using electrolysis right there at the station. To further cast a green haze over the whole thing, Shell is buying "green electricity" from the utilities to crack the water.

[Source: Shell Hydrogen LLC]

PRESS RELEASE:

Shell Opens Los Angeles' First Combined Hydrogen and Gasoline Station

HOUSTON, June 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Shell Hydrogen LLC, today, announced the opening of California's first hydrogen refueling station on a conventional Shell gasoline forecourt in West Los Angeles (LA).

Located on Santa Monica Boulevard and Federal Avenue (near I-405) the station joins California's 'hydrogen highway', and gives consumers a taste of the future, with refueling services for hydrogen powered fuel cell vehicles becoming just as convenient as conventional gasoline motors.

In hydrogen vehicles, an electric motor powers the wheels. A chemical reaction inside a unit called a fuel cell -- usually between hydrogen and oxygen -- creates electricity for the motor.

The only tail pipe emission is water vapor, which produces zero carbon emissions and has the potential to significantly reduce air pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions, improve air quality, and protect against climate change.

California already has more fuel cell vehicles (FCVs) and hydrogen refueling stations than any other part of the world, and last year recorded 1.5 million zero emission miles from hydrogen FCV trials. Twenty-five hydrogen stations currently operate in California, most in the San Francisco-Sacramento corridor and the Greater Los Angeles and San Diego regions, serving more than 100 fuel cell passenger vehicles and transit buses, with a further ten stations already in the planning stages.

Hydrogen production at the Shell station will be done on-site by the electrolysis of water using 'green electricity'(1) purchased from the Los Angeles City Department of Water & Power. It will then be compressed and stored to provide daily fueling.

The station will also support a U.S. Department of Energy hydrogen infrastructure program, to supply hydrogen to future and existing General Motors FCVs in the LA metro area. GM plans to lease more than thirty Chevrolet Equinox Fuel Cell-Electric compact SUVs to private and commercial customers in Southern California, as part of a three-year trial, called "Project Driveaway" to test the vehicles in real world driving conditions.

Officiating at the launch, City of Los Angeles Councilman Bill Rosendahl said, "California has made significant progress demonstrating fuel cell vehicle technology and fuel alternatives, but this still requires much more progress by vehicle and infrastructure providers and the state. However, I am delighted that today, with support from Shell, we are able to continue to grow a safe and secure hydrogen infrastructure, that enables fuel cell vehicles to refuel more conveniently, as we move towards the future commercialisation of clean transportation technology."

With the US one of the largest automotive markets in the world, with over 247 million vehicles on its roads(2), car ownership predicted to increase by 45% between 2005 and 20203, and US energy consumption set to rise to 139.9 quadrillion Btu by 20154, hydrogen FCVs are set to play an important part in the United States' growing energy and mobility needs.

In addition to zero tailpipe emissions, finding ways to produce hydrogen from renewable sources will be critically important to making the fuel infrastructure sustainable. And with ground breaking approaches to produce 'green hydrogen', manufactured from renewable energy sources, such as bioethanol (derived from biomass) and solar energy being researched for the future, 'well to wheel' emissions will be able to near zero.

Hydrogen can also be produced from a number of different feedstocks including oil, coal, and biomass. This allows different countries to manufacture hydrogen with their own domestic supplies, and at the same time reduce costs and increase security of supply.

Graeme Sweeney, Executive Vice President for Shell Future Fuels and CO2 said: "California is leading the way with clean fuels, as it moves one step closer to realizing its hydrogen program, FCVs powered by hydrogen will provide a sustainable transportation choice for the future, opening up new markets across the globe. This requires the sustained effort of energy companies, auto manufacturers and federal and state governments working together. We are pleased to be playing our part to help develop a safe and reliable fueling infrastructure for future clean energy vehicles, as the only major energy company involved in FCV vehicle demonstrations in all three major hydrogen markets -- North America, Japan, and Europe."

James J. Provenzano, President of the 40 year-old public advocacy group Clean Air Now added: "This is a very exciting development. With this station, Shell is helping to usher in the hydrogen age. We are very pleased to be working with a large oil company to demonstrate zero-pollution transportation technologies. Hats off to Shell for implementing innovative solutions to mitigate air pollution right here in Los Angeles."

'Shell Hydrogen' refers to the companies of the Shell Group of companies that are engaged in the pursuit and development of businesses related to hydrogen and fuel cells. Each of the companies that make up the Shell Group of companies is a separate and distinct legal entity. Principal offices of Shell Hydrogen are located in The Hague, the Netherlands, with regional bases in Houston and Tokyo. Shell Hydrogen has been developing hydrogen and fuel cell businesses since 1999. For further information, please visit http://www.shell.com/hydrogen.

Sources:
1 = Green electricity purchased from the Los Angeles City Department of
Water & Power is credited against the power company's allowance of
green sourced power.
2 = US Bureau of Transport Statistics -- 247,421,120 vehicles on US roads
in 2006
3 = Unsustainable Transport Report, January 2005, Professor David
Bannister, University College London
- Over the next 25 years (to 2020), we are likely to see a further
increase of 75 per cent in car ownership levels and a growth of 56
per cent in traffic levels globally (p22)
- In developed countries, there is some stability in the patterns of
travel, with car ownership expected to increase by 45 per cent
(North America) and 54 per cent in other OECD countries (p22)
4 = US Energy Information Administration, International Energy Outlook
Report 2006

INQUIRIES:
Shell Oil Company Shell Media Line +1 (713) 241- 4544

Disclaimer statement

This announcement contains forward-looking statements concerning the financial condition, results of operations and businesses of Royal Dutch Shell. All statements other than statements of historical fact are, or may be deemed to be, forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements of future expectations that are based on management's current expectations and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in these statements. Forward- looking statements include, among other things, statements concerning the potential exposure of Royal Dutch Shell to market risks and statements expressing management's expectations, beliefs, estimates, forecasts, projections and assumptions. These forward-looking statements are identified by their use of terms and phrases such as "anticipate", "believe", "could", "estimate", "expect", "intend", "may", "plan", "objectives", "outlook", "probably", "project", "will", "seek", "target", "risks", "goals", "'should" and similar terms and phrases. There are a number of factors that could affect the future operations of Royal Dutch Shell and could cause those results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements included in this Report, including (without limitation): (a) price fluctuations in crude oil and natural gas; (b) changes in demand for the Group's products; (c) currency fluctuations; (d) drilling and production results; (e) reserve estimates; (f) loss of market and industry competition; (g) environmental and physical risks; (h) risks associated with the identification of suitable potential acquisition properties and targets, and successful negotiation and completion of such transactions; (i) the risk of doing business in developing countries and countries subject to international sanctions; (j) legislative, fiscal and regulatory developments including potential litigation and regulatory effects arising from recategorisation of reserves; (k) economic and financial market conditions in various countries and regions; (l) political risks, project delay or advancement, approvals and cost estimates; and (m) changes in trading conditions. All forward-looking statements contained in this presentation are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements contained or referred to in this section. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Each forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of this presentation, May 4, 2006. Neither Royal Dutch Shell nor any of its subsidiaries undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or other information. In light of these risks, results could differ materially from those stated, implied or inferred from the forward-looking statements contained in this document.

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) permits oil and gas companies, in their filings with the SEC, to disclose only proved reserves that a company has demonstrated by actual production or conclusive formation tests to be economically and legally producible under existing economic and operating conditions. We use certain terms in this presentation, such as "oil in place" that the SEC's guidelines strictly prohibit us from including in filings with the SEC. U.S. Investors are urged to consider closely the disclosure in our Form 20-F, File No 1-32575 and disclosure in our Forms 6-K file No, 1-32575, available on the SEC website http://www.sec.gov/. You can also obtain these forms from the SEC by calling 1-800-SEC-0330.

Tags: la-hydrogen, los-angeles, los-angeles-hydrogen, los-angeles-shell, shell-hydrogen, shell-la

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