How to Fill Up a Hydrogen Car

New technologies are driving the development of greener, more fuel efficient cars, but it's still unclear if hydrogen-powered vehicles will ever become an affordable, mass-produced option. But these cars do have the backing of government agencies that want to see more hydrogen vehicles on the road. This has led to the development of the California Hydrogen Highway and other hydrogen fueling stations in states such as Arizona, Delaware, Florida and Illinois. The process for filling a hydrogen car is not complicated, but according to hydrogen vehicle test driver John O'Dell of Edmunds.com, "Right now it's a bit more difficult -- requiring a greater degree of dexterity than pulling into your local service station for a tank of regular unleaded."

Things You'll Need

• Hydrogen fueling PIN

Instructions

1. Find a hydrogen fueling station. Until hydrogen fuel cars become more mainstream, finding a hydrogen filling station will be the most difficult part of filling up a hydrogen car. The National Hydrogen Association website maintains a searchable hydrogen fueling station database. Here you can search for hydrogen fueling stations in the United States and Canada by state or province.

2. Get your vehicle ready for filling by accessing the data port. This port will connect via cables to the filling station to calculate how much hydrogen fuel you need. According to the Penn State website, this "electric connector, much like a computer cable, transmits measurements of tank pressure, temperature and capacity from the car to the station." Your vehicle manual will give you specific instructions for accessing the data port for your individual vehicle.

3. Type in your hydrogen refueling personal identification number, or PIN, into the computer on the filling station. This is a security measure to prevent unauthorized access to the hydrogen gas. You will get this PIN with the purchase of your hydrogen vehicle.

4. Connect the data cable from the fueling station to the data port. You will need to lock it into place for it to work properly. A light will signal that the connection has been made.

5. Connect the filling hose to the fuel tank valve after seeing that the data cable connection has been made. Unlike a traditional gasoline vehicle in which the gas hose fits into the gas tank valve, the hydrogen hose fits onto or over the fuel tank valve. Lock the hose onto the valve to ensure it is secure by using the locking mechanism on the hose. From here, the filling becomes automatic as the computers in the hydrogen fuel car and the computers in the filling station communicate. If the fueling does not start automatically, check your data port and hose connections. The system will not fuel the car if the data cable or hose are not secure.

6. Remove the filling hose first when the fueling is finished. Then remove the data cable from the data port.

7. Replace the hydrogen fuel valve cover before driving the car.

References

• Penn State: Green Cars and Fume-free Fueling Stations
• The Daily Green: Road Testing Toyota's Fuel Cell Car Prototype for Six Months
• Edmunds.com: First Look: How to Fill A Hydrogen Fuel-Cell Car
• Hydrogen Fuel Cars Now: Hydrogen Filling Station in Irvine, California
• New York Times: 2011 Mercedes-Benz F-Cell Hydrogen Fuel-Cell Car
• Hydrogen Fuel Cars Now: Hydrogen Fuel

Resources

• Hydrogen Fuel Cars Now: Hydrogen Fueling Stations
• National Hydrogen Association: Hydrogen Fueling Station Database
• National Hydrogen Association: Frequently Asked Questions
• Air Products: Hydrogen Fueling Stations for Transportation Fleets