MURRAY HILL, NJ – Linde North America’s newest hydrogen fueling station is officially in operation at AC Transit’s Emeryville, Calif., municipal bus operating division, fueling 12 fuel cell buses and up to 20 passenger cars a day.

Linde North America is a member of The Linde Group, a hydrogen vehicle fueling systems provider. AC Transit is the transit bus operator for 13 cities in the East Bay Area, including Emeryville, Oakland, and Berkeley, and also operates trans-bay service to San Francisco.

The Emeryville hydrogen fueling station, which began operating in late 2011, is one of two Linde is supplying to AC Transit. The second, located at the Oakland operating division, is expected to begin operating in 2013. Both stations are part of AC Transit’s HyRoad project, which seeks to demonstrate the commercial viability of hydrogen fuel cell technology for the public transport industry.

The California Air Resources Board estimates that fuel cell buses will deliver a net reduction of 2.7 lbs. of carbon dioxide per mile using hydrogen reformed from methane, and 6.3 lbs. per mile using hydrogen derived from solar, wind, or other renewable sources. Each bus is projected to travel 36,000 miles per year, reducing carbon emissions by 44 metric tons per year when using methane as a source of fuel, or 103 metric tons using renewables.

David Armijo, AC Transit’s general manager, noted the significance of its new Emeryville hydrogen station and fleet of fuel cell buses, saying, “We are working with companies like Linde to demonstrate alternative energy technologies in real-world operating conditions that will make our transportation systems more energy efficient and cleaner, our cities healthier, and our planet environmentally sustainable. We are impressed with Linde’s technology and the capability of our new station to provide our fleet with clean, green hydrogen fuel.”

The new station is the first public hydrogen fueling station in the San Francisco Bay area. It meets industry needs for fast fueling and includes both 700 and 350 bar fueling, according to Linde.

Click here to watch a YouTube video featuring the new hydrogen station.