To fill the tanks of clean, zero-emission vehicles, such as cars, forklifts, tractors, buses, trucks, refuse collection trucks, boats, trains, etc., filling stations must be supplied with hydrogen that is processed, compressed and delivered to them from a production site.
Filling up with hydrogen, as simple and quick as filling up with petrol
Let’s start by highlighting what doesn’t change! Filling up a new Mirai car in a hydrogen station is just as straightforward as refuelling a conventional combustion engine car. Only the filling unit is really different – hydrogen comes in kilograms rather than litres, but everything else is similar. You still have your pump, nozzle, terminal keypad and information screen, and above all the charging time is no different – in less than five minutes the tank is full, and the Mirai can set off again for around 650 kilometres.
Behind the scenes at a hydrogen station
Before being able to distribute fuel, a hydrogen station must first complete several processes:
- First, the hydrogen must be stored in cylinder racks, tanks or tube trailers,
- It needs to be compressed (to 500 bar for vehicles that run on 350-bar hydrogen and to 900 bar for vehicles that run on700-bar hydrogen, which depends on the vehicle type),
- Then it must be stored again in tanks known as buffers.
- Before being distributed, the hydrogen must be cooled using an exchanger and a cold unit (for 700-bar stations only).
- Only then can the hydrogen be used to fill a tank via the hose and nozzle of the dispenser.
Hydrogen station infrastructure is built above ground and is simple to install, repair and upgrade.
Who installs hydrogen stations?
In addition to developers and operators of service stations – who are diversifying their offer and promoting clean mobility with hydrogen – local authorities, companies, manufacturers or operators of vehicle/bus fleets can also install their own hydrogen stations for refuelling their fleet. Some such private operators also open their stations to the public.
In some areas, ecosystems have been set up to co-develop stations that meet the needs of all local users.
What do the current hydrogen stations offer?
A hydrogen station’s offering can be defined based on a few main criteria:
- Compression: 350 bar and/or 700 bar ( or 35 and/or 70 MPa). Some hydrogen stations only deliver 350 bar, some only 700 bar, and others deliver both.
- Storage capacity: This ranges from a few kilos – for supplying a small light vehicle fleet – to several tonnes of hydrogen a day for refuelling trucks, boats, planes, trains, etc.
- Flow rate: Fuelling time will vary depending on the station’s flow rate, the vehicle and the vehicle’s fuelling protocol.
One sign that the sector is already mature is that there is a standard for hydrogen stations – the SAE J2601 standard establishes the protocol and process limits for supplying hydrogen to light fuel cell electric vehicles.
Where are the first hydrogen stations?
See the collaborative map of stations
France – which plans in its Hydrogen Plan to install more than 100 hydrogen stations in 2023 – must accelerate its network to allow individuals and professionals to fuel their vehicles within a timeframe that matches the plans of vehicle manufacturers and fuel distributors.
