A hydrogen station is a storage or filling station for hydrogen fuel. The hydrogen is dispensed by weight. There are two filling pressures in common use: H70 or 700 bar, and the older standard H35 or 350 bar. As of 2021, around 550 filling stations were available worldwide.
Delivery methods
Hydrogen fueling stations can be divided into off-site stations, where hydrogen is delivered by truck or pipeline, and on-site stations that produce and compress hydrogen for the vehicles.
Types of recharging stations
Hydrogen highway
A hydrogen highway is a chain of hydrogen-equipped filling stations and other infrastructure along a road or highway.
Home hydrogen fueling station
Home hydrogen fueling stations are available to consumers. A model that can produce 12 kilograms of hydrogen per day sells for $325,000.
Solar powered water electrolysing hydrogen home stations are composed of solar cells, power converter, water purifier, electrolyzer, piping, hydrogen purifier, oxygen purifier, compressor, pressure vessels and a hydrogen outlet.
Disadvantages
Pollution
As of 2019, 98% of hydrogen is produced by steam methane reforming, which emits carbon dioxide. The bulk of hydrogen is also transported to fueling stations in trucks, so pollution is also emitted in its transportation.
Volatility
Hydrogen fuel is hazardous because of its low ignition energy, high combustion energy, and because it easily leaks from tanks. Explosions at hydrogen filling stations have been reported.
Supply
Hydrogen fuelling stations generally receive deliveries by truck from hydrogen suppliers. An interruption at a hydrogen supply facility can shut down multiple hydrogen fuelling stations due to an interruption of the supply of hydrogen.
Costs
There are far fewer Hydrogen filling stations than gasoline fuel stations, which in the US alone numbered 168,000 in 2004. Replacing the US gasoline infrastructure with hydrogen fuel infrastructure is estimated to cost a half trillion U.S. dollars. A hydrogen fueling station costs between $1 million and $4 million to build. In comparison, battery electric vehicles can charge at home or at public chargers. As of 2023, there are more than 60,000 public charging stations in the United States, with more than 160,000 outlets. A public Level 2 charger, which comprise the majority of public chargers in the US, costs about $2,000, and DC fast chargers, of which there are more than 30,000 in the U.S., generally cost between $100,000 and $250,000, although Tesla superchargers are estimated to cost approximately $43,000.
Freezing of the nozzle
During refueling, the flow of cold hydrogen can cause frost to form on the dispenser nozzle, sometimes leading to the nozzle becoming frozen to the vehicle being refueled.
Locations
Consulting firm Ludwig-Bölkow-Systemtechnik tracks global hydrogen filling stations and publishes a map.
Asia
In 2019, there were 178 publicly available hydrogen fuel stations in operation.
Japan
As of May 2023, there are 167 publicly available hydrogen fuel stations in operation, and there are projected to be 181 locations by the end of this fiscal year.
Japan built hydrogen filling stations under the JHFC project from 2002 to 2010 to test various technologies of hydrogen generation. By the end of 2012 there were 17 hydrogen stations. In 2021, there were 137 publicly available hydrogen fuel stations in operation.
China
By the end of 2020, China had built 118 hydrogen refueling stations.
South Korea
In 2019, there were 33 publicly available hydrogen fuel stations in operation.
As of 2018, approximately 18,000 fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEV) had been produced in Korea (domestic demand: 9,000 vehicles).
Europe
In 2019, there were 177 stations in Europe.
Germany
As of June 2020, there were 84 publicly available hydrogen fuel stations in operation.
France
As of June 2020, there were 5 publicly available hydrogen fuel stations in operation.
Iceland
As of June 2020, there were 3 publicly available hydrogen fuel stations in operation.
Italy
As of June 2020, there was one publicly available hydrogen fuel stations in operation.
Netherlands
As of June 2020, there are 4 publicly available hydrogen fuel stations in operation.
Denmark
As of June 2020, there were 6 publicly available hydrogen fuel stations in operation. Everfuel, the only operator of hydrogen stations in Denmark, announced in 2023 that it is closing all of its public hydrogen stations in the country.
Belgium
As of June 2020, there were 2 publicly available hydrogen fuel stations in operation.
Norway
As of June 2021, there were 2 publicly available hydrogen fuel stations in operation, both in the Oslo area. Since the explosion at the hydrogen filling station in Sandvika in June 2019, the sale of hydrogen cars in Norway has halted. In 2023, Everfuel announced that it is closing its two public hydrogen stations in Norway and cancelling the opening of a third.
Sweden
As of June 2020, there were 4 publicly available hydrogen fuel stations in operation.
Switzerland
As of June 2020, there were 3 publicly available hydrogen fuel stations in operation.
United Kingdom
As of June 2020, there were 11 publicly available hydrogen fuel stations in operation, but as of 2023, the number decreased to 5.
In 2011 the first public hydrogen station opened in Swindon. In 2014 the London Hatton Cross station opened. In 2015, the London Hydrogen Network Expansion project opened the first supermarket-located hydrogen refuelling station at Sainsbury's in Hendon. As of 2015, there were two publicly accessible hydrogen refuelling stations in Aberdeen.
In 2022, Shell closed its three hydrogen stations in the UK.
North America
Canada
As of July 2023, there were 10 fueling stations in Canada, 9 of which were open to the public:
- British Columbia: Five stations in the Greater Vancouver Area and Vancouver Island, with one station in Kelowna. All six stations are operated by HTEC (co-branded with Shell and Esso).
- Ontario: One station in Mississauga, which is operated by Hydrogenics Corporation. The station is only available to certain commercial customers.
- Quebec: Three stations in the Greater Montreal area, which is operated by Shell, and one station in Quebec City, operated by Harnois Énergies (co-branded with Esso).
United States
As of December 2023, there were 58 publicly accessible hydrogen refueling stations in the US, 57 of which were located in California, with one in Hawaii.
- Arizona: A prototype hydrogen fuelling station was built in Phoenix to demonstrate that they could be built safely in urban areas. As of November 2023, no publicly accessible stations were in operation in Arizona.
- California: As of December 2023, there were 57 retail stations. Continued state funding for hydrogen refueling stations is uncertain. In September 2023, Shell announced that it had closed its hydrogen stations in the state and discontinued plans to build further stations.
- Hawaii opened its first hydrogen station at Hickam in 2009. In 2012, the Aloha Motor Company opened a hydrogen station in Honolulu. As of April 2023, however, only one publicly accessible station was in operation in Hawaii.
- Massachusetts: The French company Air Liquide built a hydrogen fuelling station in Mansfield, Massachusetts in 2018, one of four stations they built as part of a plan to expand the hydrogen fuelling infrastructure in the Northeastern U.S. As of April 2016 a hydrogen fuelling station was located at the Billerica, Massachusetts headquarters of fuel cell manufacturer Nuvera. As of November 2023, no publicly accessible stations were in operation in Massachusetts.
- Michigan: In 2000, the Ford Motor Company and Air Products & Chemicals opened the first hydrogen station in North America in Dearborn, MI. As of November 2023, no publicly accessible stations were in operation in Michigan.
- Missouri's only hydrogen filling station is located at the Missouri University of Science and Technology campus. As of November 2023, no publicly accessible stations were in operation in Missouri.
- Ohio: A hydrogen filling station opened in 2007 on the campus of Ohio State University at the Center for Automotive Research. This station is the only one in Ohio. As of November 2023, no publicly accessible stations were in operation in Ohio.
- Vermont: A hydrogen station was built in 2004 in Vermont in Burlington, Vermont, partially funded through the United States Department of Energy's Hydrogen Program. As of November 2023, no publicly accessible stations were in operation in Vermont.
