Shell Hydrogen’s New Los Angeles Retail Hydrogen Station
 Shell Hydrogen opened its second US retail hydrogen refueling station (HRS) in Los Angeles on June 26th during a press event involving General Motors, US DOE, and local public authorities and organizations. The HRS is co-located on an existing retail gasoline station site with a convenience store, car wash, and visitor center. In 2004 Shell opened the first US retail HRS in Washington, DC.
Besides being the first retail HRS in California the station also employs a unique application of utilizing the fueling canopy overhead deck for placement of the complete hydrogen system. The hydrogen system includes a 30 kg/day electrolyzer, 350 bar compressor, 36 kg compressed steel storage, control and balance of plant elements. The canopy is specially built to support this load and meets seismic and ICC hydrogen codes. Beneath the canopy are a gaseous hydrogen dispenser and a typical gasoline dispenser (four additional gasoline dispensers are beneath a separate canopy). Access to the hydrogen canopy deck is via means of a ladder access-chase.
Shell Hydrogen pursued this approach to the HRS design to apply the recently approved ICC hydrogen codes (2006) that define the requirements for such an installation and to demonstrate alternatives to challenging footprints at retail sites. In Washington, DC Shell installed the first below-grade liquid hydrogen tank at a retail station and in Los Angeles the overhead application provides the hydrogen community an example of another approach that helps minimize site impacts.
 The primary AHJ involved was the City of Los Angeles, issuing over 22 permits prior to construction. Key departments engaged were Buildings and Safety, Engineering, Fire, and Electrical. Many of the permits issued were not directly related to hydrogen but rather general permit requirements necessary for the scope of the construction project which involved significant remodeling of the entire existing gasoline facility. The most prominent code used in design and permitting was the ICC code (2006 edition) along with appropriate references to other standards pertinent to hydrogen generation, storage, and refueling.
Shell and the local fire authorities met several times prior to submitting the permit application and there were also several meetings during the permit review process which is typical for many projects. The final permit was issued approximately 12 months following application however many were issued 8 – 10 months after application. The jurisdiction was aware of HRS projects but not intimately familiar with all the code elements and the proposal to utilize the overhead provisions in the code was certainly new ground. Shell and the fire officials discussed the project scope, safety systems, hazard reviews, and process flow piping which provided substantial pre-permit application feedback to Shell and information to the authority. During these pre-permit discussions Shell decided to change from proposing non-steel compressed storage vessels to using standard steel ASME pressure vessels to facilitate permitting. Shell may revisit the pressure vessel design in the future after positive discussions at the State level.
 Much of the fire officials awareness and knowledge about HRS and fuel cell vehicles had originated from industry forums and hands-on training sessions often times coordinated by the California Fuel Cell Partnership and the LA County Fire Fighters Association. Many area fire chiefs, lieutenants, and technical fire personnel have attended these sessions which was helpful to Shell’s efforts during initial permit discussions.
The station has already fueled many vehicles from several automakers as Shell operates the facility to be open access to all hydrogen fueled vehicles. A vehicle approval process is conducted prior to providing personal identification numbers (PIN) to approved companies/drivers. Eventually Shell intends to provide fueling access just as would be done for gasoline drivers.
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