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- Conflict of Interest
- In relation to this article, we declare that there is no conflict of interest.
- Publication history
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Received November 4, 2025
Revised November 27, 2025
Accepted December 10, 2025
Available online March 25, 2026
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This is an Open-Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/bync/3.0) which permits
unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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Energy Effi ciency of On-site Hydrogen Refueling Stations in a Comparative Study of Urban and Mother Station Models Based on Empirical Operational Data
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11814-025-00623-w
Abstract
This study quantitatively investigates the impact of diff erent operational models on the energy effi ciency of two types of
on-site hydrogen refueling stations (HRS). Based on 71 weeks of empirical data, this research compares the operational
characteristics, hydrogen supply volumes, and power consumption of an Urban Dedicated Station (serving fi xed demand)
and a Mother Station. Specifi c Energy Consumption (SEC) was employed as the Key Performance Indicator (KPI) to evaluate
energy effi ciency. The analysis reveals the operational model to be a critical determinant of HRS energy effi ciency.
The Urban Dedicated Station, characterized by stable demand and continuous operation, exhibited a strong correlation
(R 2 = 0.84) between hydrogen production and power consumption. This resulted in a low and stable SEC, consistently in
the 6–8 kWh/kg range. Conversely, the Mother Station’s intermittent operation led to substantial standby power consumption,
resulting in a weak correlation (R 2 = 0.23) and a highly volatile SEC, that peaked at 21.3 kWh/kg.
