HIROSHIMA, Japan -- Mazda Motor Corporation received approval from government authorities for a filling station to store and supply fuel for ongoing hydrogen vehicle research and development. The new "Hydrogen Station" officially began operating in early February 2005 and is located near Mazda's global headquarters in Hiroshima. It is the first hydrogen filling station in the Chugoku region of western Japan.

The facility supplies fuel to both the hydrogen engine test facility and the hydrogen rotary vehicles currently under development and testing for commercial use. High-pressure hydrogen gas--supplied by an outside contractor--is stored at about 200 bar (20 MPa) in compressed hydrogen gas tanks and further pressurized to 350 bar (35 MPa) for delivery to vehicles. The inventory stored at Mazda's hydrogen filling station enables up to 10 vehicles per day to be fueled with hydrogen gas.

Permission from Japan's Ministry of Land Infrastructure and Transport (MLIT) came in October 2004 for the world's first public road tests of Mazda's RX-8 Hydrogen Rotary (known as H2RE)--a rotary-engine-powered, dual-fuel vehicle that runs on either hydrogen or traditional gasoline.

The hydrogen gas station allows Mazda to continue development of hydrogen rotary engines with the goal of selling hydrogen vehicles to public entities and corporations in Japan within two years. This unique filling station is another tangible step forward in Mazda's support for the development of a hydrogen-fueled society.