Introduction

Modelling and methodology

Analysis and discussion of the results

Conclusions

References

Abstract

Climate change is probably the most relevant global challenge. For this reason, governments are promoting energy efficiency programmes, carbon capture technologies, and renewable energies as a way to reduce carbon emissions and mitigate climate change. Hydrogen is a clean alternative to fossil fuels in automotive applications. In this context, the objective of this project is to find the best design of a hydrogen refuelling station in terms of the number of banks and their size, having as a final aim the most cost-efficient design. This study suggests that, from an economic point of view, a state of charge for the vehicle of 100% is not adequate, since it requires very large high-pressure banks at the station, which increases significantly its setup costs. The study finds that high-pressure banks have to be bigger in volume than the low-pressure banks to minimise the total cost of the station, including setup and operational costs along its timespan. Finally, the project shows that the optimal number of banks is 4 or a maximum of 5. As a side conclusion, these results have practical implications for firms, as they might reduce the time spent in the design process of a hydrogen refuelling station.

Introduction

Fossil fuels are the main culprits of anthropogenic carbon emissions increase and, therefore, climate change. Governments are promoting energy efficiency programmes, carbon capture, and renewable technologies to limit carbon emissions and mitigate climate change. In this context, hydrogen has been investigated for a long time as a clean alternative to hydrocarbon fuels in automotive applications. Hydrogen produces no emissions of CO2 or air quality pollutants at the point of use. It has also a high specific energy storage capacity. These two characteristics make hydrogen an attractive alternative to fossil fuels for automotive industry. The potential transition from hydrocarbon-fuelled vehicles to hydrogenpowered vehicles requires a deep analysis of the technical and economic details of the hydrogen infrastructure, from the production of hydrogen to its delivery at the refuelling station. To make possible a transition to hydrogen vehicles, it is vital that consumers find hydrogen cars convenient to travel and easy and cheap to refuel. If there is no enough demand, automakers will not produce this type of cars and, logically, station-fuel providers will not invest in this technology. To make the adoption of hydrogen vehicles easier, one of the most important challenges to overcome is a reduction in the cost of hydrogen [1,2]. The cost of hydrogen depends on the cost of the production, transportation and delivery. In the hydrogen vehicle market, refuelling stations are the major contributor to the total cost to customers, representing approximately half of the price [3]. The refuelling station costs are determined by the cost of the refuelling equipment and its running costs.