FirstElement Fuel Prepares for 10th Anniversary Celebration – The Company’s True Zero hydrogen station network has delivered more than 5,5M kilograms of retail hydrogen fuel since inception.
FirstElement Fuel Inc. (“FEF” or the “Company”), a world leader in the construction and operation of hydrogen fueling stations and hydrogen supply chains, will celebrate its 10th anniversary this month at its headquarters in Irvine, California.
The Company’s goal remains the same as it was when it was founded in 2013: To foster the widespread adoption of fuel cell vehicles, improve the economics of driving, reduce harmful emissions and change the automotive industry and the world.
Hydrogen-powered vehicles have the capacity to transform modern transportation by eliminating tailpipe emissions, slashing carbon emissions, and more than doubling driving efficiency as compared to traditional combustion vehicles. FEF leads the world in retail hydrogen station design, development, and operation, serving customers with 85 retail hydrogen dispensers located throughout a network of 40 stations throughout California.
FEF’s retail stations are operated under the Company’s True Zero brand, which is synonymous with leading performance and availability for hydrogen-powered cars and trucks. The Company continues to grow its California Hydrogen Network to serve light-duty, medium-duty, and heavy-duty vehicle classes with the support of grants from California State and Regional agencies.
Over the past 10 years FEF has been supported by government funds from the California Energy Commission, the South Coast Air Quality Management District, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, and the Sacramento Municipal Air Quality Management District. Private funding has been provided by Mitsui & Co, Air Water Inc., Honda Motor Company, Toyota Motor Corporation, MUFG, the Japan Bank of International Cooperation, Nikisso Company, and Air Liquide.
Joel Ewanick, CEO and Founder of FEF, said:
We have seen fantastic hydrogen cars and trucks brought to market by automakers since the creation of our Company 10 years ago, and we see that the vehicles are ready for prime time.
“Our job is to set up a network of stations to support the commercial rollout of these vehicles as an alternative to those powered by gasoline and diesel fuels. We are fighting every day to make that happen. We believe that what we are creating in California will serve as a framework that can be exported throughout the US and the rest of the world, helping us achieve our mission.”
FEF is the first and only company in the world to have demonstrated the viability of hydrogen refueling at commercial scale, meaning the ability to fill multiple cars simultaneously in under 5 minutes, 24-hours per day, 7 days a week, without requiring an attendant.
The company has implemented its own design to develop hydrogen refueling stations that can fill four cars simultaneously and has demonstrated hydrogen refueling of multiple heavy-duty truck models at the 70 MPa standard.
FEF is also building under its True Zero brand the largest heavy-duty truck station in the world with the capability of refueling heavy-duty, medium-duty, and light-duty vehicle classes. The station is part of a public and private partnership in which Hyundai Motor Company will supply 30 XCIENT Fuel Cell, the largest deployment of Class 8 hydrogen-powered vehicles in the U.S.
The project, titled NorCAL ZERO was jointly funded by the California Energy Commission (CEC) and the California Air Resources Board (CARB) and is being managed by the Center for Transportation and the Environment (CTE).
FirstElement has designed the station, which is currently in construction, with a unique architecture to produce a capacity of 18,000 kilograms a day and to make it the first station in the world to deploy fast fill components and protocols capable of filling a truck with 80 kilograms of hydrogen in under 10 minutes.
Key FirstElement Fuel Records Set In Its First Ten Years
Highlights:
- The Company’s True Zero hydrogen station network has delivered more than 5.5 million kilograms of retail hydrogen fuel since inception
- Just a decade ago not one retail hydrogen station existed anywhere in the world
- World-leader in the number of retail hydrogen dispensers and kilograms of hydrogen delivered to cars and trucks
FirstElement Fuel Prepares for 10th Anniversary Celebration, IRVINE, Calif., August 3, 2023
