Powertech awarded Shell contract for high capacity hydrogen fuelling station

September 9, 2009

Powertech awarded Shell contract for high capacity hydrogen fueling station

VANCOUVER – Powertech, BC Hydro’s subsidiary specializing in clean energy solutions, announced today that it was selected by Shell Hydrogen, LLC to provide a new hydrogen-fuelling station at its gasoline retail station in Newport Beach, California

The station will soon provide California drivers of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles with more flexibility as it expands the network of available hydrogen fuelling stations. It will be the first high pressure (700 bar) public-use hydrogen fuelling system in California, and the first station in the world capable of fuelling four hydrogen fuel cell vehicles simultaneously.

“Powertech’s leadership in hydrogen station design is based on our distinct competitive advantage: technical expertise combined with state of the art hydrogen fuelling technology” said Eamonn Percy, President and Chief Operating Officer, Powertech. “This is a tremendous opportunity to partner with Shell to further advance both hydrogen fuelling technology and infrastructure.”

“We are delighted to collaborate with an industry leader in clean transportation such as Powertech on this project,” said Duncan Macleod, Shell Vice President of Hydrogen. “This is an important step as we continue to build hydrogen fueling infrastructure, in line with the automakers’ plans to develop hydrogen vehicles.”

Powertech has played a key role in the development of hydrogen delivery infrastructure in North America. The company designed and built the world's first 700 bar fast fill hydrogen fuelling station in 2002, currently situated at Powertech's facility in British Columbia.

Shell was one of four organizations to receive a $1.7 million US grant from the California Air Resources Board for the development of four new fuelling stations. The new stations will double the amount of hydrogen available to the public in California.

For more information visit http://www.powertechlabs.com or http://bchydro.com/news/press_centre.html

About Powertech
Powertech, BC Hydro’s subsidiary that specializes in clean energy consulting, testing, and power solutions, has been serving electrical, oil and gas companies, automotive and electrical equipment manufacturers since 1989 by meeting the complex and changing needs of our customers around the world.

About BC Hydro

A crown corporation, BC Hydro reports to the B.C. Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources. It is the third largest electric utility in Canada and serves customers in an area containing over 94% of British Columbia’s population.

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