In U.S., Hydrogen Cars May Line Up With Few Places to Fill Up

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http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/06/in-u-s-hydro... /

December 6, 2011, 6:00 am

In U.S., Hydrogen Cars May Line Up With Few Places to Fill Up

By JIM MOTAVALLI

Toyota FCV-R concept, a hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle that had its debut at the Tokyo auto show last week. Toyota and other automakers eager to sell fuel-cell vehicles in America are facing what they call an infrastructure bottleneck.

Last week at the Tokyo auto show, Toyota unveiled its FCV-R concept. According to a Toyota spokesman, John Hanson, the vehicle was designed to give the public an impression of the hydrogen-powered fuel-cell sedan it expected to make available in 2015. With a projected range of more than 400 miles, a production version of the FCV-R would surely dodge the range-anxiety stigma that afflicts battery electric vehicles.

Fuel-cell cars are coming, and not just from Toyota. Daimler, Hyundai and Honda have all committed to production on the same approximate timetable. Fuel-cell performance has increased, costs have come down and the cars should be ready, automakers say.

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Hydrogen stations, which can cost more than $1 million to build, are few and far between in the United States, even in target states like California, which is creating bottlenecks for automakers that are rolling out or ramping up demonstration programs.

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“From an industry standpoint, vehicle deployment has been slowed due to a lack of infrastructure,” the company said in an e-mailed statement. Hyundai also noted in the statement that it planned to build 1,500 hydrogen cars for the global market between 2012 and 2014, and could produce another 2,000 during that period. “These vehicles will be active in both the United States and Europe,” Hyundai said.

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