10/22/2004 GAAS:478:04 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Print Version | Email / Share
Governor Schwarzenegger Drives Hydrogen Hummer to the First Retail Hydrogen Fueling Station in California
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today continued the progress of the California Hydrogen Highway by driving the first ever hydrogen Hummer and opening the state’s first retail hydrogen fueling station at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).
The hydrogen Hummer, or H2H, is designed to run on hydrogen fuel and is produced by General Motors. GM responded to the Governor’s call to show that today’s Hummer can run on the fuel of tomorrow.
“The unveiling today of the H2H and the state’s first hydrogen fueling station proves the viability of hydrogen fuel technology,” said Governor Schwarzenegger. “The hydrogen Hummer and all the other fuel cell vehicles represented here today show that our vision for California’s Hydrogen Highway is real and attainable. It won’t happen overnight, but we must plant the seeds of success today. We have the opportunity to prove to the world that a thriving environment and economy can co-exist and we will not waiver.”
The California Hydrogen Highway Network initiative is a down payment on securing California’s future in the areas of air quality, public health, and energy diversity. The goal of the California Hydrogen Highway Network initiative is to support and catalyze a rapid transition to a clean hydrogen transportation economy in California.
“Through Governor Schwarzenegger’s vision and leadership, we will continue to expedite the transition of our transportation system away from solely petroleum fuels and towards hydrogen fuel and other alternative fuel vehicles,” said Secretary Tamminen.
An early network of 150 to 200 hydrogen-fueling stations throughout the State (approximately one station every 20 miles on the State’s major highways) would make hydrogen fuel available to the vast majority of Californians.
Studies show that California’s Hydrogen Highway Network is achievable by 2010 and will help demonstrate the economic and technical viability of hydrogen technologies. The California Fuel Cell Partnership and others estimate that this initial low-volume fueling network will cost approximately $90 million, the majority of this funding coming from private investment by energy companies, automakers, high-tech firms, and other companies. Some funding from federal, state and local governments has also been invested in these partnerships.
