Fuel Cell Vehicle for the US Navy

The fuel cell initiative announced by American manufacturer GM in the beginning of December for the State of Hawaii is slowly beginning to turn into reality, with the first fuel-cell vehicle being handed to the US Navy on the islands.

The car is just the first of a series of similar GM vehicles that will be deployed in the state in the following year. In essence, the plan outlined a few ago leaves room for hope that at one point, the infrastructure to be created in Hawaii will allow 10,000 such vehicles to be on the roads there.

The push for this alternative means of propulsion is being supported by GM, The Gas Company (TGC) and ten other businesses. By 2015, 20 to 25 hydrogen stations are planned to provide the greenest fuel possible for the 1 million residents of the Oahu island.

“We have been delivering as much as 12 percent hydrogen made from renewable sources to our gas customers over the last two to three years and expect we can deliver even greater quantities of hydrogen as demand increases,” Jeffrey Kissel, TGC CEO, said in a statement back in May when word of the initiative first hit the web.

“By delivering hydrogen through our existing infrastructure as vehicle fuel wherever we have gas, The Gas Company expands its key role of supporting Hawaii’s clean energy future.”

As we slowly approach 2011, it is likely that more such announcements will be made by the parties involved, including news about the first hydrogen refueling station being installed in Hawaii.