Ford and BP Open Second Hydrogen Station in Florida

Ford Motor Company, BP, and the state of Florida have launched an important venture and milestone-this the path of reducing impact of internal combustion engine on global warming and carbon emission. Yes, they have embarked on their collective path towards the use of hydrogen as the future of alternative fuels that are the demand of vehicle market. They have opened the second hydrogen station that will fuel a fleet of Ford Focus fuel cell vehicles in Florida.

The new station is part of the Ford-DOE Controlled Hydrogen Fleet and Infrastructure Demonstration and Validation Project, and it is also possible that more such stations could come in the near future when the demand of hydrogen as fuel increases and also become possible.

Sheral Arbuckle with Ford Motor Company's Research and Advanced Engineering Department said, "This opening represents another step forward for hydrogen as an alternative fuel. We have made much progress in hydrogen propulsion over the past 15 years and we are pleased that our Energy Partner, BP, continues to support this project with the much needed infrastructure to fuel our vehicle fleet. This is another major milestone in this joint government and industry initiative."

The advantage and usage of the hydrogen-powered Ford Focus vehicles gives the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) park rangers a pollution-free ride-park rangers use the vehicle during everyday operations at Wekiwa Springs State Park. Two more hydrogen-powered vehicles are uses by DEP's Central Regulatory District for field inspections. The remaining three hydrogen-powered vehicles are used by Progress Energy's energy-efficiency specialists and customer account managers at their Jamestown Operations Center. So, the vehicles are already in operation, and it is clear that with the increase in their use after their launch in the commercial market, the demand of hydrogen fuel stations would also increase.

DEP Secretary Michael W. Sole said, "Florida is pleased to be opening the state's second hydrogen fueling station in six months. By using state-of-the-art technology such as hydrogen to fuel six vehicles in Central Florida we are demonstrating the power of innovation."

Maria Curry-Nkansah, BP's hydrogen business development manager, said "BP is committed to developing cleaner fuels. With this station, we will continue our work to gain real-world experience in hydrogen fueling infrastructure and help build public awareness of this developing technology. This program is an example of how government, energy companies and the auto industry are working collaboratively to assess the potential of hydrogen as an alternative fuel."

The talk of global warming, carbon emission, climate change, and environment has led to the projects that are singularly devoted to the development of alternative fuels so that the vehicle market can survive in the coming future, where internal combustion engine is viewed as a serious threat to the environment of this earth. There are continuous and growing calls of developing something that can stand the needs, dynamism, vigour, and the requirements of the challenege that it pose-hydrogen has been labelled as the panacea and there are world-wide efforts to bring it in use of commercial vehicles. Honda has already started hydrogen-fueled cars, and in the coming time, there would be more cars in the market that would demand hydrogen stations throughout US and also throughout the world. So, this is one of those steps that would take the dream of automobile engineers closer to realization.