BOARD MEETING DATE: October 1, 2010
AGENDA NO. 13

PROPOSAL:

Execute Contract for Hydrogen Fueling Station and Amend Contracts for Maintenance and Fueling Services for Five Cities Program Vehicles and Stations

SYNOPSIS:

The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) was awarded funding by CARB and MSRC under two different funding solicitations to demonstrate a hydrogen fueling station. UCLA has also requested funding from AQMD to offset capital costs for this station as well as the electrolyzer previously removed from the City of Burbank. In addition, staff is recommending an extension to the Five Cities Program at least through 2012 to further utilize the new and existing hydrogen stations. This extension will require additional funding for Quantum Technologies to conduct vehicle maintenance, tracking and emissions testing, and for Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (APCI) for station maintenance, equipment leases and/or replacement and operating costs. This action is to execute a contract with UCLA in an amount not to exceed $400,000, and amend contracts with Quantum Technologies and APCI in amounts not to exceed $85,000 and $175,000, respectively, from the Clean Fuels Fund.

COMMITTEE:

Technology, September 24, 2010, Recommended for Approval

RECOMMENDED ACTIONS:

Authorize the Chairman to initiate the following actions from the Clean Fuels
Fund (31):

1. Execute contract with UCLA for demonstration of a hydrogen refueling station at UCLA in an amount not to exceed $400,000;

2. Amend contract with Quantum Technologies for hydrogen vehicle maintenance, vehicle tracking, and emissions testing in an amount not to exceed $85,000; and

3. Amend contract with APCI for hydrogen station maintenance, repair services, equipment replacement and additional equipment lease and operating costs for electrolyzer and mobile fueling stations in an amount not to exceed $175,000.

 

Barry R. Wallerstein, D.Env.
Executive Officer

Background

UCLA was awarded funding under CARB RFP #08-606 entitled “California Hydrogen Highway Network Modular Fueling Stations” and by the MSRC under program RFP # P2008-12 entitled “Alternative Fuel Infrastructure Funding Opportunities.” Both RFPs were issued in 2008. UCLA will demonstrate a new hydrogen refueling station open 24 hours a day 7 days a week which will be accessible to the public and will provide fueling at pressures of both 35 MPa and 70 MPa. Hydrogen fueling infrastructure is part of the University of California’s long-term, strategic vision to minimize its impact on the environment, reduce its dependence on non-renewable energy sources, and contribute to the improvement of air quality. The proposed location for this station is at the north-east corner of the UCLA Transit facility (1100 Veteran Avenue, 11075 Kinross Avenue) located within one quarter mile of the San Diego Freeway (Interstate 405) in Westwood. This is a strategic location that will fill a significant gap in the availability of hydrogen in Southern California as part of the California Hydrogen Highway Network. The station is in a heavily traveled area close to the intersection of the San Diego (Interstate 405) and Santa Monica Freeways (Interstate 10), and adjacent to residential areas considered by OEMs to be hydrogen-technology first-adopters.

Under the Five Cities Program, the AQMD and the City of Burbank (Burbank) installed an electrolyzer-based hydrogen fueling station and converted five hydrogen fueled vehicles. Subsequently in 2008, the DOE and BP approached Burbank to install a larger capacity steam methane reformer (SMR) hydrogen station in place of the electrolyzer.  Burbank was selected due to the projected hydrogen demand in the region and the ease of installation and permitting due to the existing station.  As the Burbank property was not large enough to accommodate both hydrogen stations, all parties agreed that the best course of action was to remove the electrolyzer equipment and have AQMD deploy it elsewhere. The station was designed, constructed and operated as a hydrogen fueling facility under contract and was funded by BP, DOE and Daimler-Chrysler (DCX). The hydrogen fueling facility is capable of producing up to 108 kg of hydrogen per day for use in fuel cell vehicles and hydrogen-ICE vehicles.

CARB recently extended the experimental permit for the Five Cities Program hydrogen vehicles for an additional 18 months to March 2012. Additional funding is required for vehicle maintenance, tracking and emissions testing, and for refueling station maintenance, equipment repairs or replacement, equipment lease and operation costs.

Proposal

UCLA

The proposed UCLA hydrogen fueling station will be a new public next-generation (70 MPa) station. The closest next-generation (70 MPa) hydrogen fueling station is located over 70 miles away at the University of California, Irvine. UCLA will be the owner and operator of the hydrogen station. UCLA’s Hydrogen Engineering Research Consortium (HERC), Office of Strategic Initiatives, Fleet and Transportation Services, and Capital Programs have secured the support of UCLA’s Administration for this project. This hydrogen station demonstration project requires additional funding in the amount of $400,000 in order to offset capital equipment costs. In addition, Burbank will transfer their electrolyzer to UCLA.

Five Cities Program

The Five Cities Program will continue as one of the most significant demonstrations of hydrogen vehicles and fleets by stimulating demand for hydrogen vehicle technologies in California and providing key refueling locations for the California Hydrogen Highway. The extension of the experimental permit will allow data collection from the hydrogen vehicles for a full five years. Initial data collection was delayed due to additional time required to finalize the vehicle conversion to hydrogen and to meet SULEV emission levels. Quantum Technologies and APCI were selected as contractors for the hydrogen vehicles and stations through two RFP’s released in March 2004 and November 2004 respectively. An amendment to the existing contract with Quantum Technologies in the amount of $85,000 is required to provide vehicle maintenance and emission testing during the experimental permit extension period of 18 months. In addition, vehicle tracking devices used to collect vehicle trip data will be placed on two vehicles at each City to provide continuous data collection that can be easily matched to individual trip-fill data collected by the hydrogen stations.

An amendment to the existing contract with APCI in the amount of $175,000 is required to provide on an as-needed basis all maintenance services, equipment repairs or replacement, and additional equipment lease and operating services for the remaining hydrogen fueling stations in the Five Cities Program. In order to ensure that the program is effective and meets the established goals of the program, the fueling equipment must be fully operational and available on-site for the entire demonstration. Individual budgets for each site will not be established; rather the funding will be flexible in nature ensuring that the electrolyzer systems will be fully operational and that the mobile fuelers will be on-site for the entire 18 months. The additional funding will also be used to recalibrate the software for the electrolyzer stations to minimize electricity costs by having hydrogen production take place during off-peak hours when electricity rates are lower and to explore more cost-effective hydrogen dispensing technologies.

Benefits to AQMD

AQMD’s Clean Fuels Program has been active in funding the development and demonstration of low emission, hydrogen fuel technologies within its Technology Advancement Office. Hydrogen vehicles and refueling stations are necessary to comply with the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) regulation to reduce criteria pollutant emissions. The development of an extensive hydrogen fueling network in Southern California will accelerate the deployment of these cleaner vehicles. Specifically, the proposed project leverages existing activities included in the Technology Advancement Office 2010 Plan Update under “Hydrogen Technologies and Infrastructure.”

Sole Source Justification

Section VIII.B.2 of the Procurement Policy and Procedure identifies four major provisions under which a sole source award may be justified. For the UCLA hydrogen station demonstration project, the request for a sole source award is made under provision B.2.d.: Other circumstances exist which in the determination of the Executive Officer require such waiver in the best interest of the AQMD. Specifically, these circumstances are: B.2.d. (1) Project involving cost sharing by multiple sponsors.

Project funding will be provided by multiple sponsors including CARB, MSRC and in-kind funding by the City of Burbank in the form of equipment to perform the tasks of design, construction, operation and outreach required for completing the demonstration of a hydrogen refueling station. Furthermore, this station fills a critical gap in the region for hydrogen fueling, and promotes the utilization of the cleanest passenger vehicles.

Project funding for the Five Cities vehicles program was provided by the Five Cities of Burbank, Ontario, Riverside, Santa Ana, and Santa Monica for $625,000 for the base price of the Prius vehicles. 

Resource Impacts

The total cost for the UCLA hydrogen station demonstration project is estimated to be $4,313,733, of which AQMD’s cost share shall not exceed $400,000. Total co-funding of $3,913,733 will be received from CARB, MSRC, the City of Burbank and UCLA. The funding partners and the proposed funding amounts are as follows:

*Funding provided in-kind by transfer of City of Burbank electrolyzer unit 

Costs for hydrogen vehicle maintenance, vehicle tracking, and emissions testing are estimated to be $85,000. Costs on an as-needed basis for all hydrogen station maintenance, equipment replacement, and equipment lease and operating costs for all stations remaining in the Five Cities Program are estimated to be $175,000. AQMD would fund the entire cost of vehicle and station maintenance for the additional 18-month extension of the CARB experimental permit.

Sufficient funds for these projects are available from the Clean Fuels Fund, established as a special revenue fund resulting from the state-mandated Clean Fuels Program. The Clean Fuels Program, under Health and Safety Code Sections 40448.5 and 40512 and Vehicle Code Section 9250.11, establishes mechanisms to collect revenues from mobile sources to support projects to increase the utilization of clean fuels, including the development of the necessary advanced enabling technologies. Funds collected from motor vehicles are restricted, by statute, to be used for projects and program activities related to mobile sources that support the objectives of the Clean Fuels Program.