Colton H2 Fire and Refueling Repercussions (update 4/18/26)
First and foremost, our hearts go out to the families of the workers that were killed or injured in the Colton hydrogen explosion and fire on February 24. The subsequent cessation of much of the hydrogen fuel deliveries in Southern California has severely impacted LD-FCEV drivers.
Last week, the Association leadership had a great Zoom call with Doug Coleman, Head of the Project Management Office at FirstElement (parent company of TrueZero HRS). While much of the conversation was off the record, Doug did want to convey the message that, ". . . we are planning on building more stations in the near future", and that "we hope to build a stronger relationship with the hydrogen car owner base going forward."
We were very encouraged by the optimistic tone of the conversation. We agreed to have more conversations, and will have more to share in the months to come.
Other recent updates from the Hydrogen Cell Fuel Partnership and Iwatani can be found in our "What's New" section here. You can also view our Facebook Page for our latest information.
CHCOA Board member Nathan Okawa is also doing an excellent job of tracking the station and fuel delivery status on his Facebook (see report).
A Review of Hydrogen Refueling Stations in 2025 (3/17/26)
These past two years we saw some stations come online and some stations go offline. We saw Shell Oil pull back on investment and we saw Chevron further theirs.
We all want to see more station reliability and availability. Are we making progress?
CHCOA Board member Nathan Okawa has produced a top notch summary of recent events, it will put your own observations into perspective.
You can see "The Station Beat" by clicking this link.
Our Mission: To build upon the great foundation created by the current hydrogen car owners’ groups by diligently and courteously advocating for hydrogen cars and hydrogen car drivers in California.
Please Note: As a 501(c)(6) organization, donations to our Association are NOT tax-deductible.
