Joint Agency Staff Report on Assembly Bill 8: 2020 Annual Assessment of Time and Cost Needed to Attain 100 Hydrogen Refueling Stations in California

The Joint Agency Staff Report on Assembly Bill 8: 2020 Annual Assessment of Time and Cost Needed to Attain 100 Hydrogen Refueling Stations in California is in accordance with Assembly Bill 8 (Perea, Chapter 401, Statutes of 2013), which requires the California Energy Commission (CEC) and California Air Resources Board (CARB) to “jointly review and report on progress toward establishing a hydrogen-fueling network that provides the coverage and capacity to fuel vehicles requiring hydrogen fuel that are being placed into operation in the state.” Since 2010, the CEC’s Clean Transportation Program has invested nearly $166 million in hydrogen infrastructure to support the fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) market.

As of December 1, 2020, California’s 45 open retail hydrogen refueling stations provide enough hydrogen to support nearly 20,000 light-duty FCEVs. The network is expected to reach 105 stations by the end of 2023, reaching the Assembly Bill 8 goal of achieving at least 100 publicly available stations, and having the capacity to support nearly 150,000 light-duty FCEVs. Planned projects should result in as many as 179 stations, leaving a 21-station gap to reach the 200-stations-by-2025 goal of Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr.’s Executive Order B-48-18. Up to 13 stations should be ready to serve medium- and heavy-duty fuel cell trucks.

The CEC zero-emission vehicle data portal shows cumulative sales or leases of 8,486 light-duty FCEVs through the third quarter of 2020. The CARB survey of auto manufacturers anticipates that 48,900 light-duty FCEVs will operate in California by 2026. The population of mediumand heavy-duty fuel cell truck is expected to grow to more than 60 by 2023.