Oakland’s heavy-duty hydrogen station at 2450 Engineer Road was built to serve commercial trucks in the NorCAL ZERO freight project. FirstElement Fuel called it the world’s first station designed for high-flow fills of up to 80 kilograms in under 10 minutes—a company claim about its fast-fill design, not an independently verified global first for every commercial hydrogen truck station.
What opened in Oakland—and when?
The station is at 2450 Engineer Road, on East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) property. FirstElement Fuel signed a lease for the site in the third quarter of 2021 and led its development and operation. The Port of Oakland marked the NorCAL ZERO project’s dedication on May 2, 2024; the California Air Resources Board (CARB) project report gives August 30, 2024, as the date the station fully opened to the public. These dates mark separate milestones. CARB’s project report and the Port’s announcement document them.
Oakland has another hydrogen station that is easy to confuse with this one: the California Energy Commission (CEC) documented a retail facility at 350 Grand Avenue in 2022, with two fueling positions. That is a separate site, not the NorCAL ZERO heavy-duty truck station. The CEC report identifies the retail facility.
Why is it described as the world’s first?
FirstElement Fuel’s October 2023 announcement described the planned station as the first in the world to deploy fast-fill components and protocols intended to fuel a truck with 80 kilograms of hydrogen in under 10 minutes. That is the company’s claim about the station’s high-flow design. Government and Port sources establish the project, station and role in freight operations, but do not independently establish an unrestricted “world’s first” for all commercial hydrogen truck fueling stations. FirstElement Fuel’s announcement contains the design claim.
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How the station fits into NorCAL ZERO
NorCAL ZERO is a publicly funded California project deploying 30 Hyundai XCIENT Class 8 hydrogen fuel-cell electric trucks in commercial freight operations. The California Energy Commission and CARB funded the project; infrastructure includes the Oakland station and a truck maintenance facility in San Leandro. The CEC’s project report describes the deployment and station specification.
G.E.T. Freight, a Glovis America business, operates the trucks. Hyundai supplied them and said they entered commercial operation in California. The Port says the trucks haul freight and cars to destinations in the Bay Area and Central Valley; Hyundai describes container moves from the Port of Oakland and vehicle transport from the Port of Richmond. The Port reported a truck range of more than 400 miles on a single fill. That is a reported vehicle range, not a guarantee for every route or operating condition. Hyundai’s announcement and the Port’s project announcement describe the operations.
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What the published figures say
Published figures describe different things: project fleet and vehicle range, station storage, announced design throughput and dispensing pressure. They should not be treated as interchangeable measures of actual station performance.
| Figure | What it refers to | Source and qualification |
|---|---|---|
| 30 trucks | Hyundai XCIENT Class 8 hydrogen fuel-cell trucks in the project fleet | Port of Oakland, 2024 |
| More than 400 miles per fill | Reported range of the trucks | Port of Oakland, 2024; reported figure, not a route-specific guarantee |
| 18,000 kilograms | Station storage capacity | Port of Oakland, 2024; described as storage, not daily throughput |
| More than 200 trucks a day | Number of trucks the Port says the station can support | Port of Oakland, 2024; stated support capacity |
| 18,000 kilograms per day | Announced station design capacity | FirstElement Fuel, 2023; company-announced daily capacity |
| 80 kilograms in under 10 minutes | Announced fast-fill capability | FirstElement Fuel, 2023; design claim published before public opening, not an independently measured result |
| 700 bar | Hydrogen dispensing pressure | CEC, 2025 |
| $53 million | Collaborative project cost | Port of Oakland, 2024 |
The Port’s 18,000-kilogram storage figure and FirstElement Fuel’s 18,000-kilogram-per-day design capacity have different units and meanings. Neither, by itself, establishes how much hydrogen the station dispenses in ordinary current operation. The Port’s project announcement gives the storage, truck-support and cost figures; FirstElement Fuel’s announcement gives its design claims; the CEC report states the 700-bar specification.
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- The Hydrogen fuel trolley uses zinc particles and food grade citric acid to synthesize hydrogen, and then uses the produced hydrogen and air to generate electricity to drive the trolley.
- During the experiment, please use 80 ℃ hot water for Combination reaction
- And then take off the plug of the vent pipe at the lower part of the fuel cell, release the gas in the rubber hose immediately, and then plug it back immediately, so that only pure hydrogen and air are in the fuel cell, so that the fuel cell can generate hydrogen air power.
What the project may mean for emissions
Hyundai estimated that the trucks could reduce carbon emissions by more than 24,000 metric tons compared with diesel-powered vehicles. This is a projected comparison, not a measured reduction reported after operation. The project sources establish a deployment and its intended role in lower-emission freight; they do not provide an independently verified emissions outcome. Hyundai’s announcement describes the estimate.
Who is involved?
- FirstElement Fuel: Developed and operates the heavy-duty station; its “world’s first” and fast-fill descriptions are company claims.
- EBMUD: Owns the property and leased the Engineer Road site for station development.
- Hyundai Motor Company: Supplied the 30 XCIENT trucks.
- G.E.T. Freight: Operates the project’s freight trucks.
- Papé Trucks: Maintains the trucks at its San Leandro facility.
- Port of Oakland: Participates in the project and is the freight hub at the center of the drayage operation.
- CARB and the CEC: Funded the project and publish project reporting.
What is—and is not—known about current service
The cited project materials establish the station’s public opening date and reported specifications, but do not verify its current operating status, fuel availability, access rules, hours or actual throughput. A public opening in 2024 should not be read as confirmation that the station is available to every truck or operating on a particular schedule today; fleets should confirm current access and fueling arrangements with the operator.
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