What’s happening?
The North Central Texas Council of Governments was awarded $70 million in January to build five hydrogen fueling stations in Texas near DFW, Houston, San Antonio and Waco. The stations will create a hydrogen fueling network for medium- to heavy-duty freight trucks.
Stations are planned for the innovation zone and inland port areas, Air Quality Planner Joslyn Billings said during the NCTCOG meeting. Seven other potential sites have been identified throughout the Texas Triangle, according to the presentation.
“We’ll be selecting the rest of the stations from the potential ones near Houston, San Antonio and Waco to complete and fill in that triangle,” Billings said.
Staff have already begun coordinating with local governments in the project areas, but they are at the beginning of the contracting process, she said.
What they’re saying
Laura Freeland, executive director of the Southern Dallas County Inland Port Transportation Management Association, said in an email they were excited to have one of the fueling stations built at the port.
“The location of a hydrogen fueling station in the DCIP will help transition freight transport from conventional diesel fuel to zero-emissions hydrogen fuel cell technology,” she said.
Freeland said the grant was particularly impactful because it was secured for refueling stations across the triangle.
“Given the amount of truck traffic that passes through the Texas Triangle, securing fueling stations for the entire area helps trucking companies make the investment to convert to hydrogen,” she said.
Also of note
The NCTCOG was also awarded $15 million to build up to 100 electric vehicle charging ports across the region. At least half of those chargers will be built in disadvantaged communities known as Justice40 areas. Staff will also emphasize adding charging ports to rural communities excluded from other funding opportunities, Billings said.
Other grant projects include:
- Partnering with Oncor and DFW Airport to develop an electric vehicle charging plan for the region focused on power failure: awarded $1.5 million
- Repairing or replacing existing nonoperational charging stations in the region: awarded $3.6 million
