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Work formally began this week on a hydrogen refueling station in the Vista that’s supposed to help make the city a center for alternative fuels.
When it opens in February, the station will fuel a bus that will travel around the USC campus and on several city transit routes, said Russ Keller of the South Carolina Research Authority, the project manager.
The bus from the Federal Transit Administration will remain in Columbia for a year. Officials hope the station will next fuel shuttles used at Midlands military bases and forklifts used by area companies.
The station at Huger and Laurel streets would be the Southeast’s only publicly accessible hydrogen fueling station, outside of Florida.
Hydrogen fuel is supposed to be less environmentally harmful than fossil fuels and would lessen dependence on oil, proponents say.
But the technology is years away from common use, and hydrogen fuel costs about $5-$10 a gallon, said Keller, the authority’s senior director for alternative energy. That’s $1.50 to $5.50 a gallon more than gasoline.
USC and the city of Columbia have collaborated for several years to develop hydrogen technology projects. The technology was put on display at six companies that used two hydrogen-powered forklifts last year.
“We want to be the next Silicon Valley with hydrogen technology,” Columbia Mayor Bob Coble said. “You can’t be a hydrogen city without a hydrogen station.”
Funding for the $1.2 million fueling station comes from a federal grant and the research authority.
Design work began this week with construction slated to start this fall, Keller said.
The bus could arrive as early as Oct. 1 and will be fueled remotely until the station opens.
The bus and station will be operating when the National Hydrogen Association annual conference comes to Columbia in March. The conference is expected to bring dozens of hydrogen-powered vehicles for demonstrations.
Reach Shain at (803) 771-8619.
