The hydrogen fueling station will supply pure hydrogen, CNG and HCNG to the Town’s alternative fuel fleet.

The station will be capable of providing 12 kg of hydrogen gas per day, which is equivalent to the energy content of 12 gallons of gasoline. 12 kg can fill between 2 and 4 vehicles per day. The hydrogen will be stored in tanks that can hold 42 kg of gas, enough to fill approximately 7 pure hydrogen vehicles consecutively. Approximately 150 gallons of the gasoline equivalent of CNG will be stored at the station. This is enough to fuel approximately 10 vehicles per day. When an HCNG vehicle is fueling, the hydrogen will be instantaneously blended with the stored CNG by the HCNG blender.

The pure hydrogen will be used by hydrogen fuel cell vehicles provided by several car manufacturers on a temporary basis. The CNG will be used frequently by Town vans for municipal purposes. The HCNG will fuel a Ford E450 shuttle bus that will be used for the Town of Hempstead’s Senior Enrichment Program, ensuring that the Station is not only educational but also engages with the community as well.

The HCNG blend that will be used by the Town of Hempstead site is a mixture of approximately 20% hydrogen and 80% CNG by volume, and 7% hydrogen and 93% CNG by energy. Pure hydrogen will be produced via electrolysis, a process that uses electricity to split water. Fuel cell vehicles will convert pure hydrogen to electricity via an electrochemical process and will have zero tailpipe emissions.

Generation Via Electrolysis, Storage and Dispensing

The hydrogen will be generated through electrolysis, an electro-chemical process that passes electricity through water in an ionic transfer device to separate water into its hydrogen and oxygen parts. The formula is as follows:

electricity + 2H₂O => O₂ + 2H₂

The hydrogen is the captured and pressurized for storage and dispensing. The Town is using the Proton Energy Systems FuelGen® Hydrogen Fueling Systems electrolyzer.