Methodology development to locate hydrogen stations for the initial deployment stage

Hydrogen station deployment needs to be progressed in response to the introduction of fuel cell vehicles (FCVs) to the commercial market. Since resources allocated for deployment are limited for either private companies who wish to install stations and governments who provide subsidies, efficient station allocation should be cognizant of the service of potential customers. Based on a literature review, the results of a social survey and data analysis, p-median is chosen to find optimum locations for hydrogen stations. Location and the amount on potential demand for FCV's in the early stage of deployment is estimated by a regression model. The result of GIS analysis for both 2020 and 2025 using p-median implies the importance of covering regional hub cities (such as prefectural capital cities) as well as metropolises. The coverage rate of potential FCV demand is around 60% at the national level, and exceeds 70 to 80 percent when limited to urban areas for the 400-station allocation. The geographical tendency of station locations allocated by the developed methodology provides guidance for hydrogen station location practice.