Technical performance of HRS under high utilisation and recommendations

06/03/2023

If hydrogen is expected to play a significant role in transport, extensive and reliable networks of hydrogen refuelling stations are required.

Numerous governments across Europe have committed to limiting increases in global temperatures by achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. As part of this, there is a focus on reducing emissions in the transport sector which is estimated to be responsible for over 20% of Europe’s greenhouse gas emissions.

Road transport is the largest emitter in the transport sector, with all European countries still heavily reliant on petrol and diesel vehicles. Transitioning to zero emission alternatives such as battery electric (BEV) and fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEV) is therefore vital in achieving Europe’s climate targets.

There is a growing consensus that FCEVs will play a significant role in the future transport sector as they can provide similar operational flexibility to petrol and diesel vehicles, with long ranges and quick refuelling times. The hydrogen used to power the vehicle can also be produced in large volumes through zero or low carbon production methods. When electrolysis is used, local or national energy systems can also benefit as hydrogen can be used to provide flexibility services for energy markets struggling with the variability of renewable energy supply.

However, hydrogen mobility is not yet fully commercialised To date, around 2,900 light FCEV (passenger cars and vans are operational on roads in Europe There is an increase in the number of heavy duty vehicles and buses as well currently around 200 These vehicles utilize a limited network of 213 hydrogen refuelling stations (HRS). Most deployments have required support from funded demonstration projects to overcome initial market barriers This has helped evidence the readiness of the technology for further scale up, but further technology and market improvements are required before wide scale commercial roll out.

One key area requiring improvement is hydrogen refuelling infrastructure. An extensive network of hydrogen refuelling stations (HRS) will be required to allow unfettered movement of vehicles across Europe, and improvements in the performance of HRS need to be achieved to ensure infrastructure is well equipped for increasing demand and can satisfy the needs of end users with limited additional effort or compromise.

Overview of report D5.38:

Previous H2ME reports have identified a variety of barriers for roll-out, but a consistent challenge has been the deployment and operation of the HRS networks. The aim of this report is to give an overview of the performance, availability, and utilisation levels of HRSs in the H2ME project as well as challenges encountered, focusing specifically on stations which experienced the highest high utilisation rates over the course of the project.
The H2ME-2 initiative aspired to deploy HRS which would be rigorously tested under high levels of utilisation. The levels of utilisation were expected to reach an average around 20% by the end of the trial, with several individual stations exceeding 50%. Nevertheless, only a few stations are reaching that level of 20% described as high utilisation as FCEV deployment in Europe has not developed as fast as forecasted when the project was commissioned. This slower development has reduced
the sample size of sites which can be examined.
The report therefore aims to outline some of the key performance and utilisation trends seen across the project, as well as examine case studies of few key stations that have achieved moderate to high levels of utilisation (>20% utilisation relative to the station capacity). For most of these stations, the deployment of high-mileage fleets in the area was the main contributor to bigger amounts of hydrogen been dispensed.
This report is the executive summary of a series of four reports produced on this topic throughout the H2ME project. For further detailed analysis, please see published interim reports Technical performance of HRS under high utilisation and recommendations

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Technical performance of HRS under high utilisation and recommendations