Hydrogen highway

A hydrogen highway is a chain of hydrogen-equipped filling stations and other hydrogen infrastructure along a road or highway which would allow hydrogen powered cars to travel. It is an element of the hydrogen infrastructure that is generally assumed to be a pre-requisite for mass utilization of hydrogen cars. For instance, William Clay Ford Jr. has stated that infrastructure is one of three factors (also including costs and manufacturability in high volumes) that hold back the marketability of fuel cell cars (some commentators, such as Amory Lovins in Natural Capitalism, have argued that such infrastructure may not be necessary). Hence, there are plans and proposals to develop hydrogen highways through private and public funds.

The use of hydrogen cars has been proposed as a means to reduce local air pollution and carbon emissions because hydrogen fuel cell cars emit clean exhaust. Hydrogen can be produced from natural gas, coal and renewable energy. However, as long as the majority of hydrogen continues to be produced by burning fossil fuels and transported in trucks, pollution is emitted by the hydrogen manufacturing process.

At the end of 2012 there were 17 private hydrogen stations. In 2014, Japan got its first commercial hydrogen fueling station. The Japanese government hoped to add up to 100 hydrogen stations under a budget of 460 million dollars covering 50% of the installation costs with the last ones intended to be operational in 2015.JX Energy planned to install 40 stations by 2015. and another 60 in the period 2016–2018 Toho Gas and Iwatani Corp planned to develop an additional 20 stations.Toyota Tsusho and Air Liquide formed a joint venture to build 2 hydrogen stations planned to be ready by 2015.

...
Wikipedia