Techno-economic analysis of a renewable hydrogen refuelling station network: The case study of Spain

Hydrogen-powered Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (FCEVs) offer a promising pathway to reduce emissions of the transport sector, particularly when fuelled by renewable hydrogen produced through water electrolysis using Renewable Energy Sources (RESs). However, adoption is constrained by the limited refuelling infrastructure and the current higher readiness and competitiveness of battery electric and hybrid alternative technologies for the traction system. In response, the Spanish government aims to install 100 to 150 HRSs nationwide by 2030 amongst other objectives for the hydrogen infrastructure. This paper introduces a Spain-wide, RES-clustered design and assessment of the renewable HRS network that jointly (i) estimates light- and heavy-duty FCEV demand anchored to national targets, grounded forecasts and empirical refuelling patterns (ii) optimally decides per each RES zone the distribution and capacity using two station scales (daily hydrogen throughput capacity) and (iii) analyzes the on-grid and off-grid HRS design requirements and techno-economic results of their deployment. The clustering of the Spanish territory is performed to discretize the simulation and analysis geographically, and the clusters are decided based on RES potential. The main core of the techno-economic modelling and simulation is carried out via a coordinated HDRSAM–HOMER workflow that improves on common approaches presented in the literature, where only one of these tools is considered. The results reveal that off-grid stations have a Levelized Cost of Hydrogen (LCOH) ranging from 14.79 $/kg to 24.13 $/kg, with larger stations benefiting from modest economies of scale. By contrast, on-grid HRSs present lower LCOH (9.56–16.71 $/kg) and a significantly lower energy surplus than that in off-grid topologies. Consequently, grid connectivity proves advantageous in regards to energy utilization and cost. These findings provide a robust foundation for scaling a renewable HRS network rollout in Spain, underscoring the role of on-grid solutions in accelerating FCEV adoption and enhancing sustainable mobility while keeping RES input necessary to optimize costs and reduce emissions. • A national HRS network for Spain is designed to meet 2030 FCEV demand using RESs. • Mixed-integer optimization allocates 149 HRS with 2 sizes per-RES zone (5 zones). • Station capacities are tailored regionally to reduce both surplus and HRS count. • HOMER and HDRSAM are tools combined to assess on-/off-grid techno-economics. • On-grid LCOH ranges in 9.56–16.71 $/kg vs off-grid in ranging in 14.8–24.13 $/kg.