Joint Agency Staff Report on Assembly Bill 8: Assessment of Time and Cost Needed to Attain 100 Hydrogen Refueling Stations in California

The Joint Agency Staff Report on Assembly Bill 8: Assessment of Time and Cost Needed to Attain 100 Hydrogen Fueling Stations in California is the California Energy Commission’s and California Air Resources Board’s first joint report on how much time and public incentive funding through the Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program (ARFVTP) will be needed to reach the 100 station milestone in California in accordance with Assembly Bill 8 (AB 8). The report assesses the time needed to date to develop the first 49 stations funded by the Energy Commission and finds that overall hydrogen refueling station development timelines have decreased from an average of 4.9 years for 5 stations funded in 2009 to 1.6 years for 6 stations funded in 2013 that have achieved operational status. The report finds that costs for early market hydrogen refueling stations are high and range from $2.1 million to more than $3 million for 180 kilogram-per-day (kg/day) and 350 kg/day stations, respectively. Equipment costs are not expected to decrease significantly in the near term but have the potential to decrease by 50 percent through 2025. Energy Commission incentive funding levels range from 70 to 85 percent of total capital costs and are expected to be needed to be sustained for the next several years to reach the 100 station target. To date, Energy Commission incentive funding totals $80.9 million in capital cost support and $9.9 million in operating and maintenance cost support. Private sector capital match funding to date totals nearly $35 million. Ongoing incentive funding will be needed to support development of the 100 hydrogen refueling stations specified in AB 8. The report concludes that California will attain the 100-hydrogen-refueling-station milestone goal between 2020 and 2024 (consistent with the timeline for AB 8, which expires in 2023), depending on market conditions and consumer response to FCEVs, and that $157 million to $170 million in cumulative ARFVTP incentive funding will be needed.