General Motors working on new hydrogen stations

American flags flutter in the wind in front of the General Motors Corp. headquarters in downtown Detroit, Michigan in this file photo from November 7, 2007. GM said on Wednesday it was partnering with Clean Energy Fuels Corp on a new hydrogen refueling station in Los Angeles that the companies hope will be the first of many.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - General Motors Corp said on Wednesday it was partnering with Clean Energy Fuels Corp on a new hydrogen refueling station in Los Angeles that the companies hope will be the first of many.

GM is one of a handful of car companies developing fuel cell-powered vehicles, which run on hydrogen and emit only water vapor. Fuel cell vehicles are being touted as a way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and reduce the United States' dependency on pricey crude oil.

In a statement, the two companies said they are discussing opportunities to expand the first station, which will be located near Los Angeles International Airport, into a network of hydrogen stations used to refuel fuel cell vehicles.

The new fueling station will be used by drivers taking part in GM's Los Angeles-area test of its Chevy Equinox fuel-cell-powered car, the company said.

GM said in April it aims to have 1,000 hydrogen fuel cell vehicles in California between 2012 and 2014 to comply with the state's goal to put thousands of cleaner cars on its roads.

A problem with fuel cells, however, is the lack of an infrastructure for refueling. California currently has only a handful of refueling stations.

(Reporting by Nichola Groom; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)