Linde hydrogen fueling station open for business in West Sacramento
Murray Hill & New Providence, New Jersey, U.S., August 3, 2015 – Owners of hydrogen fueled cars can now pull up to the Linde hydrogen pump at the Ramos Oil Company station in West Sacramento and fill their tanks just like any other vehicle. The station, equipped with state-of-the-art technology developed by Linde North America Inc, has been designated as officially open by all relevant stakeholders and authorities.
Linde North America Inc., a member of The Linde Group is a major producer of hydrogen and covers the entire technology spectrum required to successfully use hydrogen as a transportation fuel.
“This is truly a significant milestone in the advancement of hydrogen as an alternate fuel for cars,” said Mike Beckman, vice president of Hydrogen Fueling-Linde North America, Inc. “A hydrogen fueling station is very different from the usual gasoline and diesel fueling operations, requiring highly sophisticated equipment and special handing. Having been certified officially open, according to the new criteria, the station is the first in California and, in fact the U.S., to receive this designation. But it didn’t come easy.”
Beckman points out that the open designation comes only after a series of rigorous criteria have been met, including receipt of permits from all relevant authorities having jurisdiction, approval by the Department of Weights and Measures of the sale of hydrogen by the kilogram, and letters from at least two hydrogen fuel cell vehicle manufacturers confirming the station meets fueling protocols and can be used to fuel their line of cars.
Tyson Eckerle, ZEV Infrastructure Project Manager-Office of Governor Jerry Brown, Business and Economic Development, said, “Linde’s West Sacramento station opens the door to a truly retail hydrogen fueling experience, which is a huge deal for California’s budding retail hydrogen station network. Congratulations to the Linde team for exemplary stakeholder collaboration and leadership.”
Kent Ramos, president of Ramos Oil Company, said he is “very impressed with the exciting technology Linde brought to us. We have been serving the Sacramento Valley market with a variety of fuels for over 60 years. Hydrogen’s zero emissions technology fits perfectly into our multi-fuel platform concept and I believe will prove that hydrogen has a place in the transportation fuel mix.” Ramos Oil, one of the largest Hispanic-owned companies in the U.S., is one of the first petroleum retailers in California to embrace clean fuels. In addition to conventional fuels, the company offers bio-diesel, ethanol-85, methanol and now hydrogen. The company also uses solar panels to power the entire facility.
At the heart of the hydrogen fueling system is the Linde IC 90 ionic compressor -- the next generation of hydrogen compression technology which enables higher throughput and enhanced back to back fueling. “With this compressor, Linde has made a valuable contribution to the ongoing enhancement of today's hydrogen fueling infrastructure,” said Beckman. For more information on Linde’s IC 90 ionic compressor see: http://www.lindeus.com/en/innovations/hydrogen_energy/fuelling_technologies/ionic_compressor.html.
Nitin Natesan, Business Development manager for Linde Hydrogen Fueling, said, “The Ramos high-throughput retail station is a very significant step forward in the commercialization of hydrogen-fueled cars. Drivers can fill up with hydrogen using a credit card as with any other vehicle. The station is also equipped with a video screen should the driver need filling instructions.”
While it is difficult to project how much business the new hydrogen fueling station will do in the Sacramento area in the next few years, conservative industry estimates call for over 34,000 hydrogen powered cars to be on the road in California by 2021, with a significant growth curve from there.
