As global demand for energy soars and pressures on the energy supply increase, Chevron is accelerating its development of new energy and alternative fuels, including hydrogen. The goal is to create a clean, abundant and more diversified energy supply to fuel the world's growing prosperity.
We are focused on developing technology to foster the use of hydrogen-powered fuels cells and researching the use of hydrogen as a transportation fuel.
The Promise of Hydrogen
Many factors are driving the development of hydrogen as a cleaner form of energy. Among them is the desire to:
- Reduce greenhouse gas emissions
- Increase global energy security
- Improve the reliability of the power grid
- Provide high-quality power for digital devices
Thanks to advances in fuel cell technology, hydrogen is poised to play an increasingly important role in the world's energy mix. A fuel cell can convert hydrogen directly into electricity for both transport and stationary-power applications. A fuel cell converts energy very efficiently, which helps conserve energy resources, and the only byproduct of this chemical process is pure water — a clear benefit for the environment.
However, there is a challenge that comes with this promise of clean, abundant, secure energy. Hydrogen — a tasteless, odorless, colorless gas — is not found freely in nature. It must be extracted from other substances. As a result, there are substantial technical hurdles to producing, storing and distributing hydrogen.
What Chevron Is Doing
Chevron understands hydrogen. For decades, we've been producing hydrogen — more than 1 million kilograms a day — for industrial use in our refineries. We are also recognized for our expertise in catalysis and reforming, processes that allow hydrocarbons to be tailored for specific uses. So turning hydrogen into a high-value fuel is a natural extension of what we already do.
But before fuel cells can achieve widespread use in vehicle or stationary-power markets, hydrogen as a fuel will have to be readily available. This means, for example, that fueling hydrogen-powered vehicles will have to be as straightforward and convenient as fueling today's gasoline-powered vehicles.
At Chevron, we take a practical approach to hydrogen development. We recognize that hydrogen is not currently competitive with conventional fuels. We are investing in and further developing technologies that can make it more competitive. Technical breakthroughs are needed before hydrogen can emerge as a viable transportation fuel.
Chevron is investing millions of dollars to help make that happen. Specifically, Chevron Technology Ventures supplies venture capital to companies with promising hydrogen technologies; conducts its own research; and works with partners to develop, demonstrate and commercialize the best hydrogen solutions.
Creating a Bridge to the Future
We see hydrogen becoming part of the world's energy supply as technical challenges are overcome and market forces create new opportunities. We believe it might take decades to make a large-scale transition to hydrogen-based energy and transport systems that are economically sound.
In the meantime, there is plenty of work to do. We call this transition phase the era of "practical hydrogen," which is:
- A time for the industry to develop, test and commercialize the best products and processes
- A time for intensive research and development work, along with partnerships that demonstrate prototype fuel-cell vehicles, infrastructure solutions and specialized stationary-power applications
- A time for formulating critical national and international policies, codes and standards for hydrogen
During this transition period, we see hydrogen fuel being produced from widely available hydrocarbons, such as natural gas and liquid fuels. Currently this is the most efficient, cost-effective way to make hydrogen in the quantity needed to supply a growing "hydrogen economy."
Because it is not cost-effective to transport large quantities of hydrogen by truck or trailer, we believe the first step will be small-scale, distributed production of hydrogen. In the future, as costs for renewable energy decrease, it may also become economically feasible to produce hydrogen through the electrolysis of water using solar- or wind-generated electricity.
On the Road to Hydrogen
Integrating hydrogen into the world's energy supply is an enormous undertaking. It calls for close collaboration and partnership among governments, universities and industries worldwide. At Chevron, we are actively involved in numerous hydrogen collaborations.
For example, we have teamed up with Hyundai-Kia Motor Co. and UTC Power on a project that is part of a five-year U.S. Department of Energy program. The goal is to develop and demonstrate a safe, convenient, reliable and cost-effective hydrogen fueling infrastructure, hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles, and distributed power generation systems.
Chevron operates five hydrogen energy demonstration stations in the United States:
- Chino, California — We installed a small-scale demonstration station that converts natural gas into hydrogen, which is then compressed, purified, stored and dispensed into fuel cell vehicles.
- Oakland, California — We collaborated with AC Transit, one of the state's largest public transit agencies, to design and build a demonstration hydrogen energy station to provide high-quality fuel for hydrogen fuel cell, hybrid-electric buses and fuel cell cars.
- Rosemead, California —This station, at Southern California Edison headquarters, is designed to produce hydrogen using water electrolysis to convert city water into purified hydrogen for a small fleet of demonstration vehicles.
- Orlando, Florida — A Chevron hydrogen station fuels internal combustion engine buses used around the Orlando International Airport and the Orange County Convention Center.
- Selfridge, Michigan — At the Selfridge Air National Guard Base, we are using our advanced technologies to convert natural gas into purified hydrogen where it is then compressed, stored and dispensed into vehicles powered by hydrogen fuel cells.
Although bringing hydrogen to large-scale commercial production is a long-term challenge with several research and technology hurdles to overcome, Chevron is emerging as a leader in developing fuel processing systems for fuel cells and is addressing both the current and future demand for reliable, cost-effective energy.
Updated: March 2008