Web-based investment planning tool for hydrogen refuelling stations

The challenge

Hydrogen refuelling infrastructure must grow quickly, not least because AFIR requires stations along the TEN-T core network and in urban nodes by 2030. Yet deciding how large a station should be, whether it will pay off, and how it should operate remains difficult. Existing planning approaches are often spreadsheet-based or treat components separately. Desktop tools are frequently blocked by corporate and public-sector IT policies. Investors and planners need fast, reliable answers they can bring to a bank or a funding body.

Our project idea

We will turn our proven optimisation technology into a web-based planning tool for hydrogen refuelling stations, advancing it from TRL 6 to TRL 8 during 2027. For a given site, the tool will jointly determine:

• the optimal size of on-site renewables, electrolysers, compression, high-pressure storage and dispensing,

• the hour-by-hour operation of the station, based on electricity tariffs, renewable production and vehicle refuelling demand,

• investment indicators such as CAPEX, OPEX, NPV, IRR, payback period and the levelised cost of hydrogen at the pump.

Users will need only a browser, with no installation required.

What we bring

Our team comes from the University of Zagreb Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing. We have years of experience in mathematical optimisation and techno-economic modelling of energy systems. Our optimisation technology for hydrogen-based energy hubs has already been piloted by partners in several European regions.

Who we are looking for

• SMEs in hydrogen mobility, such as refuelling station developers and operators, engineering consultancies and fleet operators, as pilot users of our upcoming web-based planning tool.

• Pilot users with planned or existing stations, or fleets considering hydrogen, to test the tool on real cases during 2027.

• Universities, research organisations, municipalities and regional agencies interested in testing the tool.

What partners and pilot users get

• Free access to the tool during the pilot phase.

• Optimisation analyses of their own planned stations.

• Influence on which features are developed.

• Joint case studies and visibility within the IH-MIE ecosystem.