Though not the first or only hydrogen fueling station in the region, a new place for drivers of fuel-cell vehicles is open for business in Torrance, and its how it brings in the fuel that makes this station distinctive, according to the L.A. Times. " The public Torrance station, operated by Shell on land leased from Toyota, is the first in the country to pull hydrogen from an existing and active pipeline."There aren't a whole lot of fuel-cell vehicle drivers, though, but there are a handful of stations to serve them here, says USA Today's Drive On:
Los Angeles is home to probably more hydrogen vehicles than anywhere else in the U.S., but the new station is only the seventh in the region. As a result, if hydrogen vehicles ever take off -- and Drive On boldly predicts they won't -- then SoCal is likely to be the place.
The Torrance station is located not only near freeways, but also the Toyota Motor Sales headquarters. The plan for the station, besides serving the few fuel-cell vehicle drivers around, is for Toyota to "use the station for a demonstration program." The Japanese car company will have their fuel-cell vehicles available on the mass market in 2015.
