}... here he is filling up!! 
posted by zorgon
Shell Oil company revealed a new Hydrogen pump for cars. The sales rep said within 10 years Shell would create a "hydrogen highway" down both coasts to serve the most populated region. In 1969, the University of Toronto offered a hydrogen conversion kit for $680.00. It included a new carbuerator, a nickle foam tank and a set of rear springs because of the weight of the tank. Hydrogen was available from medical gas suppliers.
One [cause of delay] is the infrastructure needed to store and dispense hydrogen. It would be very expensive for a startup company to place stations all across America. But the main reason was developing a safe and easy to use for self serve dispenser!
Hydrogen is very explosive and a small static spark would easily set it off. Shell claims their new pump is a safe dispensor. I saw it. Its easy to use!
Last week, Shell Hydrogen opened the first-ever hydrogen pump at a retail service station in Washington, D.C.
[Edited by Don W]
I thought most retail gas stations were owned by private entrepreneurs? The mayor of Jax owns 20 or so retail gas stations. He is a multi-millionaire. At 300,000 gallons per month per station, and 2 cents per gallon profit, times 20 stations, he must make at least $120,000 a month, gross profit. The markup is closer to 10 cents a gallon, so I’m talking the owner’s share. I digress.
Point? If there was money to be made in opening a new hydrogen station, it would not take a new startup company to do it. 10s of 1000s of local “boys” would jump right in!
There must be a reason. Anything Shell can do, Exxon can do. Or Texaco. Or Occidental, and etc. Methinks Shell is trying to pull an ADM on Congress.
Back around the mid or late 1970s, my hometown of Louisville gas utility company opened a hydrogen station and bought a half dozen GM pickups outfitted for hydrogen. A lot of hoopla. Ribbon cutting. All that. Then, after a couple years, it was quietly closed. No ribbon cutting then. Conclusion? It did not work. Reason? My guess is it is too expensive to compress the hydrogen. Cryogenics. Too cold. A 50 gallon tank might weight 300 pounds and carry you 100 miles. Uh-uh.
The issue over making a safe customer operated pump smells of 3 day old fish. There is something afoot here and it sounds like money! Taxpayer’s money.
Believe me, if it worked, we’d have it.
Funny though, no matter what you bring to this board there are those who doubt it, can't imagine why. You might think I was on a conspiracy
board or something
so perhaps the lesser evil.... 
