Oil giant Shell said it opened the first hydrogen dispenser at a retail gasoline station to service a fleet of six fuel cell vehicles from General Motors.

The Washington station, offering compressed and liquid hydrogen, is a collaborative effort between Shell and GM to demonstrate hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and refueling infrastructure technology.

"Today marks the next major step in Shell Hydrogen's effort to make a substantial advance and move research further into reality," said Jeremy Bentham, chief executive officer of Shell Hydrogen.

"The Benning Road station in Washington, DC represents a real-world urban-driving scenario to demonstrate hydrogen cars and refueling."

Ozbek said that although fuel cell vehicles are much more energy efficient than traditional cars, they face a "chicken-and egg syndrome" that is hampering development.

"The infrastructure has to be there for the market to evolve," he said.

"Those stations need to be reinforced by the US federal government. The oil sector has been very conservative ....We also need local government involvement. If local governments start to switch their fleets (to fuel cells), companies will follow."

Larry Burns, GM's vice president of research and development and planning, concurred.

"The only way the Hydrogen Economy will be realized is having not only fuel cell vehicles, but also convenient places to refuel and local communities that will support this transition to a new energy source," Burns said.

"I want to applaud both the local community and Shell on this important milestone."

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