The development of hydrogen fueling infrastructure across the United States will need to keep pace with the projected production and deployment of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. The Biden administration has made significant investments through tax incentives and grants to support the continued development of hydrogen fuel cell technologies, and the market for hydrogen fuel cell vehicles is expected to expand to more than $40 billion by 2030.
Further development of hydrogen fueling infrastructure across the United States is essential to enable hydrogen fuel cell vehicles to be deployed successfully and achieve its full potential. The hydrogen fueling stations that exist today are located predominantly in California, which limits the overall range and reach of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles in the United States. Additional stations in other areas of the United States are under development and in progress.
The development of hydrogen fueling stations is a resource and time-intensive exercise. Key issues relevant to investors and developers of hydrogen fueling stations include the following:
- Source of the Hydrogen: The scope and design of a hydrogen fueling station is directly impacted by the production site of the hydrogen that is dispensed from the fueling station. If the hydrogen is delivered to the hydrogen fueling station, the hydrogen can be delivered to an onsite storage tank or delivered in a container that can be swapped out at the station. On the other hand, if the hydrogen is produced onsite, the station design will need to account for the necessary equipment and any feedstock needed for the production of hydrogen.
- Purity of the Hydrogen: The hydrogen that is dispensed from the hydrogen fueling station will need to meet certain purity requirements. Hydrogen fuel quality testing may need to be performed to ensure that the hydrogen that is dispensed at the fueling station meets the quality and purity requirements for use in a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle.
- Access to Hydrogen Fueling Station: If the hydrogen fueling station is open to use by the public, the hydrogen fueling station must have dispensing equipment that is compatible with the hydrogen fuel cell vehicles the hydrogen fueling station may serve.
- Ownership of Hydrogen Fueling Station: A station owner may not always own the property on which the hydrogen fueling station is constructed and instead may lease the site. If the station owner leases the property, some of the issues that may arise include the permitted use of the property and the type of equipment and facilities that may be installed on the property.
Alignment of the development and deployment of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles with the availability and accessibility of hydrogen fueling stations will be critical to the successful incorporation of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles into transportation fleets to decarbonize the heavy-duty transportation sector and the expansion of hydrogen fueling infrastructure.
Operators of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles must have certainty that hydrogen fueling stations will be accessible and available along their travel routes. At the same time, investors and developers of hydrogen fueling stations need to be confident that hydrogen fuel cell vehicles will be on the road and will refuel at their stations to justify their investment and development.