Hawaii Island has its first hydrogen car

Since the leasing of the first Toyota Mirai hydrogen fuel cell vehicle on Oahu in 2018, adoption of that alternate energy source in the transportation sector of Hawaii has been very gradual.

That made the appearance a first hydrogen car on Hawaii Island on Aug. 25 something of note.

The 2017 Mirai was purchased privately and shipped to Kawaihae Harbor by sustainable energy developer H2 Energy, which hopes its appearance will spur adoption of hydrogen technology, like refueling infrastructure. Paul Ponthieux, the director and chief technology officer at Blue Planet Research, LLC, took delivery of the vehicle.

“There is no silver bullet to get us off fossil fuels," Ponthiex said in a statement. "But there is silver buckshot and hydrogen, like batteries, are an important part of that buckshot allowing everyone the opportunity to drive an EV even if you live in an area or condo where charger access is not available. It is a proven, safe, clean and sustainable technology that will fit well with the Big Island’s distance and terrain challenges."

Hydrogen vehicles, and hydrogen charging stations that combine solar energy and water, remain hard to come by. Dave Rolf, executive director of the Hawaii Automobile Dealers Association, has described it as a "chicken-and-egg" problem.

Stan Osserman, H2 Energy's information officer, told Pacific Business News that to his knowledge there are no other hydrogen cars on Hawaii Island besides the Mirai his group purchased. H2 Energy has access to the only privately operated hydrogen production station on Hawaii Island.

"Hydrogen energy storage has huge advantages in transportation because it is light weight and has high energy density,” Osserman said in a statement. “Hydrogen is also a desirable long-term energy storage for electric grid applications, and we predict that hydrogen will play a huge role in making Hawaii clean and energy self-sufficient by the state’s 2045 mandate.”

Servco Pacific Inc. operates the only publicly available hydrogen fuel station on Oahu, at its Mapunapuna headquarters. That station opened in 2018.

Osserman said that a single refueling station to make, purify, compress and dispense hydrogen can cost between $150,000 to $5 million, ranging from an appliance that needs no special permitting for servicing two cars, to an upper-end station like the one at Servco Mapunapuna.

Servco Pacific leased out its first Toyota Mirai hydrogen fuel cell vehicle in 2018 and has since distributed over 25 — its entire allotment, according to Peter Dames, executive vice president of Servco Pacific Inc. Fuel and maintenance are included in the lease price of the Mirai, which starts at $514 per month. The Mirai vehicles leased out on Oahu by Servco are the only ones able to fuel up there.

"While we do not plan to build any additional stations, we remain committed to working with private/public and government organizations to ensure future H2 stations meet the rigorous safety and purity standard of Toyota," Dames said in an email.