Kristie Cattafi

Staff Writer, @KristieCattafi

LODI -- The borough became the first in the state to approve a hydrogen-dispensing station for hydrogen-fueled vehicles after the zoning board approved plans this week.

The dispensary will be located at the existing Shell gas station on Essex Street and will be one of the few hydrogen retail stations open to the public across the country. There is also an application pending in Whippany.

Air Liquide US filed an application with the Lodi Zoning Board of Adjustment to install a hydrogen gas fueling dispenser, a hydrogen fuel storage facility and other improvements to the existing station.

LODI: Borough could be home to N.J.'s first hydrogen fuel station

Five witnesses testified on behalf of the project to address environmental benefits, the current market and the board's safety concerns.

Hydrogen-powered cars are electric vehicles, but rather than using a plug-in electric battery, they are run by a fuel cell that generates power by combining pressurized hydrogen with oxygen from the air. Water that trails out of the tailpipe is the only emission.

Toyota is collaborating with Air Liquide to expand hydrogen fueling stations to the East Coast to coincide with the introduction of its new hydrogen-powered car, the Mirai. There are plans to start construction of 12 hydrogen fueling stations in the next year in New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Delaware, according to Jana Hartline, the environmental communications manager for Toyota North America.

Lodi's location was chosen because the station is off Route 80 and Route 17 and is close to the Garden State Parkway and Route 4, said Aaron Harris, technical director for Air Liquide's hydrogen energy systems.

"The site is critical for us," Harris said. "We need to be selective of where to put the stations. They need to be near major arteries and freeways so other people passing through will have access to it."

There are 33 hydrogen stations in the United States, according to the U.S. Department of Energy's Alternative Fuels Data Center. The vast majority ― 30 ― are in California, which has committed to investing $20 million annually to help develop 100 hydrogen refueling stations by 2020.

There is one station each in Connecticut, South Carolina and Massachusetts. There are 201 electricity recharging stations and 453 charging outlets for battery-operated electric vehicles nationwide.

The Lodi station will hold up to 200 kilograms of hydrogen gas. Unlike gasoline stations, consumers will have to pump their own hydrogen gas into their cars, but employees of the Shell station will be trained to help.

Toyota and other automakers are offering subsidies to consumers and helping to finance the development of hydrogen filling stations like the one approved in Lodi. The lack of stations has held back the wider introduction of the technology. Toyota is giving buyers a prepaid credit card that they can use to buy up to $15,000 in fuel over the first three years of ownership.

"There is no chicken before the egg here, we need the stations first," Robert Winner, an environmental researcher with Toyota, said. "In California, we launched the car as the hydrogen stations started to come online."

Zoning board members asked safety questions regarding leak-detection systems, shutoff valves and inspections, among others. "It's certainly as safe as a gasoline station," Harris said. "If compared side by side, it is all the same and it meets the same code requirements."

A condition of the approval is that training be given to Lodi and nearby fire departments.

The board unanimously approved the application, citing environmental benefits and the fact that the dispensary won't negatively affect the area since it will be located at an existing gas station. A formal resolution on the approval is scheduled to be adopted at the March 23 meeting.

Fast facts:

Toyota's Mirai has a suggested retail price of $57,500.

Hydrogen sells for around $12 to $15 a kilogram.

The Mirai holds 5 kilograms of hydrogen.

It can travel up to 312 miles on a full tank.

A fill-up costs around $75.

Owners will have to pump their own hydrogen.

It will take 5 to 7 minutes to fill a tank.

Email: cattafi@northjersey.com