FirstElement Fuel Prepares for 10th Anniversary Celebration

Just a decade ago not one retail hydrogen station existed anywhere in the world

FirstElement Fuel Inc. leader in the construction and operation of hydrogen fueling stations and hydrogen supply chains, will celebrate its 10^th anniversary this month at its headquarters in Irvine, California.

The Company’s goal remains the same as it was when it was founded in 2013: To foster the widespread adoption of fuel cell vehicles, improve the economics of driving, reduce harmful emissions and change the automotive industry and the world.

Hydrogen-powered vehicles have the capacity to transform modern transportation by eliminating tailpipe emissions, slashing carbon emissions, and more than doubling driving efficiency as compared to traditional combustion vehicles. Today, FEF leads the world in retail hydrogen station design, development, and operation, serving customers with 85 retail hydrogen dispensers located throughout a network of 40 stations throughout California. FEF’s retail stations are operated under the Company’s True Zero brand, which is synonymous with leading performance and availability for hydrogen-powered cars and trucks. The Company continues to grow its California Hydrogen Network to serve light-duty, medium-duty, and heavy-duty vehicle classes with the support of grants from California State and Regional agencies.

Over the past 10 years FEF has been supported by government funds from the California Energy Commission, the South Coast Air Quality Management District, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, and the Sacramento Municipal Air Quality Management District. Private funding has been provided by Mitsui & Co, Air Water Inc., Honda Motor Company, Toyota Motor Corporation, MUFG, the Japan Bank of International Cooperation, Nikisso Company, and Air Liquide.

“We have seen fantastic hydrogen cars and trucks brought to market by automakers since the creation of our Company 10 years ago, and we see that the vehicles are ready for prime time” said Joel Ewanick, CEO and Founder of FEF. “Our job is to set up a network of stations to support the commercial rollout of these vehicles as an alternative to those powered by gasoline and diesel fuels. We are fighting every day to make that happen. We believe that what we are creating in California will serve as a framework that can be exported throughout the US and the rest of the world, helping us achieve our mission.”

FEF is the first and only company in the world to have demonstrated the viability of hydrogen refueling at commercial scale, meaning the ability to fill multiple cars simultaneously in under 5 minutes, 24-hours per day, 7 days a week, without requiring an attendant. The company has implemented its own design to develop hydrogen refueling stations that can fill four cars simultaneously and has demonstrated hydrogen refueling of multiple heavy-duty truck models at the 70 MPa standard.

FEF is also building under its True Zero brand the largest heavy-duty truck station in the world with the capability of refueling heavy-duty, medium-duty, and light-duty vehicle classes. The station is part of a public and private partnership in which Hyundai Motor Company will supply 30 XCIENT Fuel Cell, the largest deployment of Class 8 hydrogen-powered vehicles in the U.S. The project, titled NorCAL ZERO was jointly funded by the California Energy Commission (CEC) and the California Air Resources Board (CARB) and is being managed by the Center for Transportation and the Environment (CTE). FirstElement has designed the station, which is currently in construction, with a unique architecture to produce a capacity of 18,000 kilograms a day and to make it the first station in the world to deploy fast fill components and protocols capable of filling a truck with 80 kilograms of hydrogen in under 10 minutes. 

Key FirstElement Fuel Records Set In Its First Ten Years

Category	Quantity
Hydrogen Dispensed	5.5 Million kilograms
Vehicle Fills	207 Million
ZEV* Miles Driven from FirstElement’sStations	357 Million
Single Day Record at one station	857 kilograms312 fills
Single Day Record across FirstElement’sNetwork	6,112 kilograms2,192 fills
Monthly Record across FirstElement’sNetwork	162,850 kilograms60,430 fills

*Zero Emission Vehicle

California State government policy has for decades supported a transition to hydrogen in the transportation sector as part of its zero-emission vehicle strategy, placing the State in a leadership position for hydrogen-related development. And more recently the use of hydrogen to replace conventional fossil fuels in the transportation and energy sectors has been embraced on a global scale as critical for fighting global warming, reducing harmful air pollutants, and improving energy security. For example, the United State’s bipartisan Inflation Reduction Act legislation represents a significant commitment to the development of clean hydrogen as a replacement for traditional fossil fuel energy. Commitments to develop hydrogen as a transportation fuel have also been made in Japan, the European Union, and South Korea.

In addition to FEF’s world leadership in the construction and operation of hydrogen stations, the Company has also become a leader in technology development related to the design and implementation of hydrogen station and hydrogen supply chain technologies. In addition to extensive proprietary know-how, the Company currently has 10 patents awarded or pending for technologies that, to name a few examples, have enabled multiple vehicles to refuel simultaneously from one set of equipment, automated the offload of hydrogen during deliveries for improved safety and efficiency, and reduced refueling times of hydrogen-powered heavy-duty trucks.

Along with FEF’s commercial scaling, the Company continues to innovate solutions to close the cost gap between hydrogen refueling stations and conventional stations as well as to improve reliability and ultimately, the customer experience.

“We understand there are still some headwinds facing hydrogen and cost is a significant one,” said Ewanick. “But at the same time we have managed to keep all of our hydrogen 100% carbon free and there are imminent state and federal energy policies that will help level the cost playing field with polluting, petroleum-based fuels. We view this as merely a speedbump on the path to building the hydrogen network.  Any company is only as good as the dedicated people that form the essence of the organization and at FirstElement our excellent team tackles each issue methodically, never becoming discouraged, and knowing we cannot stop because of what is at stake: clean air, energy security, and winning the war against climate change.

“We are determined and persistent in our mission to foster the adoption of hydrogen vehicles and create a replacement to diesel and gasoline.  People want a choice and we will keep fighting every day to give consumers the choice to use hydrogen vehicles. We want to thank our customers who have stood with us, encouraging us to keep going. Our Mission Statement has not changed since inception. We will keep working to build more stations and supply hydrogen. Now we are turning our focus to driving down the hydrogen price at the pump – we hear our customers and we will fight for you, that is a promise from FirstElement Fuel.”

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