Stations

Hydrogen is safely transported through 700 miles of US pipelines and 70 million gallons of liquid hydrogen is transported annually by truck over US highways without major incident. NREL's HyDRA map displays sites of current and potential hydrogen production from renewables and natural gas.

Hydrogen is the smallest element, with one proton and one electron. It has an average atomic weight of 1.0079 amu, making it the lightest element, and a density of 0.08988 g/L, making it less dense than air. Because of these properties, hydrogen is lighter than air and is impossible to pool or puddle in one place.

At standard temperature and pressure, hydrogen is a nontoxic, nonmetallic, odorless, tasteless, and colorless. It will won't pool or puddle, pollute groundwater, ruin beaches or harm wildlife. It won't drip on your shoes, make your hands smell or make the asphalt slippery.

The average price of hydrogen for a light-duty fuel cell electric vehicle (passenger car) in California is $16.51 per kilogram, according to the 2019 Joint Agency Report (p17). As more retail stations open and have higher utilization, the price per kilogram of hydrogen is projected to drop to ranges more competitive with the prices of gasoline. For example, in late 2019, the True Zero Oakland hydrogen station opened with three times the capacity of previous stations. It offers hydrogen at $13.11 per kilogram (tax included) due, in part, to the larger volume and other factors.

In addition, drivers of fuel cell electric cars are offered free fuel by automakers for three years, to bridge the time it takes the market to become more competitive with other fuel options.

Reports, studies, and white papers from the Hydrogen Council, NREL and Shell, among others, all point to reductions in the price of fuel and fueling infrastructure for various reasons (scaling up, standardization, etc.).

Hydrogen Council: Path to Hydrogen Competitiveness: A Cost Perspective
Shell: Hydrogen Refueling Station Cost Reduction Roadmap
Shell: Towards Competitive Refueling Infrastructure
NREL: Manufacturing competitiveness analysis for hydrogen refueling stations
BloombergNEF: Hydrogen Economy Outlook Key Messages

Please note: The information above pertains to hydrogen stations serving light-duty fuel cell electric vehicles (passenger cars) and, therefore, does not reflect the cost or price of hydrogen for buses, trucks or any other fuel cell electric vehicle category.

Hydrogen is the most abundant chemical substance in the universe, especially in stars and gas giant planets. On Earth, hydrogen is a diatomic molecule (consists of two atoms) and it has a propensity to form covalent bonds with most elements. In other words, it hates to be by itself and will quickly bond with another molecule.

Hydrogen production is a chemical reaction; using heat and catalysts to release hydrogen molecules from natural gas or biogas, or using solar or wind energy to electrolyze water.
 

The California mix of hydrogen, which requires 33% renewables, also reduces greenhouse gas emissions. 
 

Read more on the Well to Wheels page.

The wind blows and the sun shines even when power demand is low. Hydrogen is one way to store excess power. This short video from ITM Power briefly overviews a complex topic.

Because hydrogen can be made from so many sources, every region can use its own local resources to make fuel—vital in the quest for energy security.

The Energy Information Agency reported that hydrogen production capacity at U.S. oil refineries is more than 3 million cubic feet a day. Enough hydrogen is produced now to power 20-30 million cars.