One of the critics’ biggest arguments against moving to a hydrogen economy and hydrogen transportation system has been that the price of hydrogen gas is too high relative to gasoline.

Last month, I blogged about a new hydrogen fueling station that had opened up near Chicago, Illinois that was charging $3.49 per gallon equivalent for hydrogen gas. At the time, this was 10-cents cheaper than what I was paying in California.

Now, the Department of Energy (DOE) has awarded H2Gen with its “DOE Hydrogen Program R&D Award” for creating a low cost hydrogen generator. H2Gen’s HGM-10,000 meets the DOE target of reducing hydrogen gas prices to $2.50 per gallon equivalent by the year 2010.

As gasoline prices are expected to exceed $4 per gallon in some parts of the country this summer, this is welcome news for those who believe that hydrogen cars will not only be good for the environment but good for the pocketbook as well.

In January of this year, H2Gen delivered its HGM 2000 hydrogen generator to a ChevronTexaco station near the Orlando International Airport in Florida. This station will be used to fuel eight Ford E-450 hydrogen shuttle buses.

Filed under: Hydrogen Distribution