Optimal sites selection of oil-hydrogen combined stations considering the diversity of hydrogen sources

The popularity of hydrogen refueling stations in China is hindered by unreasonable site selection and high initial costs. Built gas stations with large consumer groups and reasonable locations can be expanded into oil-hydrogen combined stations. which can effectively reduce construction costs and approval complexity, improve hydrogenation infrastructure and reduce hydrogenation costs. Taking Chinese social-economic environment into consideration, this paper created an optimal site selection decision framework for oil-hydrogen combined stations to achieve the goal of reducing construction costs, transportation costs and carbon emissions in the whole process. A two-stage criteria system including veto criteria system and evaluation criteria system was established, and fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (AHP) method and TOmada De decis ao Interativa Multicriterio (TODIM) method were utilized to determine the criteria weight and obtain the ranking of alternatives respectively. Finally, a case study was conducted and the most suitable gas station site for the construction of oil-hydrogen combined station was determined. Moreover, the economics of the several hydrogen sources were discussed from the perspective of best site selected, it is concluded that hydrogen from natural gas or coal is still the best hydrogen source for oil-hydrogen combined stations. (c) 2022 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

The popularity of hydrogen refueling stations in China is hindered by unreasonable site selection and high initial costs. Built gas stations with large consumer groups and reasonable locations can be expanded into oil-hydrogen combined stations, which can effectively reduce construction costs and approval complexity, improve hydrogenation infrastructure, and reduce hydrogenation costs. A decision framework for optimal site selection of oil-hydrogen combined stations was developed in this study to reduce construction costs, transportation costs, and carbon emissions. A two-stage criteria system and multiple methods were utilized to determine the criteria weight and obtain the ranking of alternatives. The most suitable gas station site for the construction of oil-hydrogen combined station was determined through a case study, and the economics of different hydrogen sources were discussed.