Linde, Ramos Oil to develop new hydrogen fueling station in California

Linde is nearing completion of its first retail hydrogen fueling station in the US, the company announced on Monday.

The station, which is expected to be online before the end of the year, is being installed at the Ramos Oil Company multi-fuel station in West Sacramento, California, where Ramos currently retails gasoline, diesel, bio-diesel, ethanol-85, methanol, and racing fuels.

"We are very excited to be working with Ramos Oil on this project," said Nitin Natesan, business development manager for Linde Hydrogen Fueling. "This high throughput retail station is a very significant step forward in the commercialization of hydrogen-fueled cars."

"While the acceptance of Linde technology for hydrogen fueled vehicles is advancing at a fast pace in Europe, we're now getting a real foothold in the US, with California leading the way," he continued. "Recently, the California Energy Commission, which supports this project, announced that it is providing funding for a significant number of additional retail stations throughout the state. Linde received funding for two of the stations -- in Oakland and San Ramon, California – to go along with the five previous station awards Linde has received. Linde has also built and is operating two hydrogen fueling stations for California's AC Transit to fuel 12 hydrogen fuel cell buses in Emeryville and Oakland."

At the heart of the hydrogen fueling system is the Linde IC 90 ionic compressor -- the next generation of hydrogen compression technology. Linde says this will enable higher throughput and enhanced back-to-back fueling. 

Unlike conventional piston-operated compressors, the IC 90 works with ionic liquid. Because these ionic liquids essentially have no vapor pressure, they do not evaporate or mix with the hydrogen gas. They also eliminate mechanical wear-and-tear and sealing problems inside the cylinders. 

"With this compressor, Linde has made a valuable contribution to the ongoing enhancement of today's hydrogen fueling infrastructure," said Mike Beckman, head of the H2 fueling business at Linde North America.

Linde is handling the design and fabrication of the Linde 900 bar Ionic Compressor. In addition, several companies will also be involved in the hydrogen station installation: Quantum Fuel Systems Technologies Worldwide (QTWW) for the dispensing system; FIBA Technologies will supply some of the hydrogen gas storage tubes; and Chart Industries will supply the hydrogen storage tank.

"We are delighted to be working with Linde on this exciting project," said Kent Ramos, president of Ramos Oil Company. "We have been serving the Sacramento market with a variety of fuels for over 60 years, and we are anxious to support the infrastructure necessary to prove that hydrogen has a place in the transportation fuel mix."