Joint Agency Staff Report on Assembly Bill 8: 2021 Annual Assessment of Time and Cost Needed to Attain 100 Hydrogen Refueling Stations in California

The Joint Agency Staff Report on Assembly Bill 8: 2021 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.” 

The CEC’s Clean Transportation Program has invested nearly $166 million and currently plans to invest a total of $279 million in hydrogen infrastructure. CEC and CARB staffs expect that California will exceed the 100-station goal in Assembly Bill 8 in 2023, with more than 179 stations by 2027. The General Fund appropriation for zero-emission vehicle infrastructure in the California Budget Act of 2021 is anticipated to support additional hydrogen stations to reach the 200-station goal. As of October 22, 2021, the 52 open-retail hydrogen refueling stations, funded by the Clean Transportation Program, the Volkswagen Mitigation Trust Fund, and the private sector have the capability to serve as many as 36,000 light-duty fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs), which exceeds the estimated on-road population of 9,647 FCEVs. Station down time and hydrogen supply disruptions diminished the customer experience. The planned 179 stations will have the capability of serving more than 245,000 light-duty FCEVs, of which at least 13 can serve light-, medium-, and heavy-duty vehicles. As the number of hydrogen stations expands, station deployment should not be a barrier to near-term light-duty FCEV deployment. CEC and CARB staffs intend to continue evaluating the FCEV market and identify metrics to inform potential future funding decisions by examining FCEV deployments, global trends, consumer preferences, and the consumer experience at stations.