Fuel Cell Company Unveils Home Hydrogen Station
“A hydrogen station in every home” is a futuristic vision that is about to become a reality this week as Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies unveils what could be its biggest breakthrough to date: a small home hydrogen refueling and storage solution that could begin our transition to a hydrogen-based economy.
In addition to making many new fuel cell products possible, the refueling device enables a lower cost, scalable, and consumer-centric hydrogen supply model which eliminates the dependence on large-scale fueling infrastructure investments. Horizon’s game-changer innovation can unlock the age-old dilemma over which comes first: clean cars, or clean fuels.
“We no longer need to rely on nationwide networks of hydrogen fueling stations to enable large-scale fuel cell commercialization,” comments Taras Wankewycz, one of the company’s founders. “Horizon is initiating a transition that places consumers in the driving seat. Thanks to our innovation each household can gradually become a major part of tomorrow’s hydrogen fuel supply infrastructure.”
Named HydoFillTM, the world’s first personal hydrogen station designed by Horizon was unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The small desktop device simply plugs into the AC, a solar panel or a small wind turbine, automatically extracts hydrogen from its water tank and stores it in a solid form in small refillable cartridges.
Horizon believes this new development is the first step toward private refueling of new generations of fuel cell electric vehicles. Fuel cell technology can greatly improve the features and usability of many battery or engine-powered devices, and create the possibility for lower cost electric cars that drive longer distances and recharge instantly.