Hydrogen Refueling Station Throughput Calculator

Calculate kilograms per day, vehicles per hour, and effective availability for a hydrogen refueling station by combining dispenser count, fueling time, and operating hours.

Number of simultaneously available hydrogen dispensers during the operating window.
Minutes to complete one vehicle fill including connect, pressurise, and disconnect operations.
Number of hours dispensers are available each day after maintenance and staffing constraints.
Typical kilograms dispensed per vehicle. Adjust for light-duty (4–6 kg) versus heavy-duty requirements.
Defaults to 95%. Accounts for reliability losses from dispenser faults or storage depletion.

Engineering planning aid—validate throughput with full station modelling, cascade storage sizing, and regulatory checks before investment decisions.

Examples

  • 4 dispensers, 8 minute fills, 18 operating hours, 5 kg per vehicle, 95% availability ⇒ Projected throughput: 2,565.00 kg/day (142.50 kg/hour). That equals 513 vehicles per day (28.50 vehicles/hour) at an effective availability of 95.00%.
  • 6 dispensers, 12 minute heavy-duty fills, 20 operating hours, 30 kg per vehicle, defaults for availability ⇒ Projected throughput: 1,710.00 kg/day (85.50 kg/hour). That equals 57 vehicles per day (2.85 vehicles/hour) at an effective availability of 95.00%.

FAQ

How do cascade storage limitations affect the result?

If high-pressure storage depletes before the end of the operating window, reduce the operating hours input to the period when full-pressure fills are possible or lower the availability percentage to mirror downtime for recompression.

Can I model simultaneous light- and heavy-duty service?

Run separate scenarios for each vehicle class with its own fill time and kilograms per vehicle, then weight by the share of dispenser time allocated to each stream to plan composite throughput.

What if my site operates 24/7 with staggered maintenance?

Enter 24 hours for the operating window and adjust the availability percentage to reflect the cumulative downtime from staggered maintenance, venting, or staffing gaps.

How should I account for pre-cooler capacity limits?

If the pre-cooler can support fewer back-to-back fills than dispenser hardware suggests, increase the average fill time or reduce availability so the throughput reflects thermal recovery delays.

Additional Information

  • Result unit: kilograms of hydrogen dispensed per day with hourly and vehicle throughput context.
  • Availability defaults to 95% when left blank, reflecting downtime for venting, maintenance, or storage depletion recovery.
  • Average fill time should include connect, cooldown, ramp, and disconnect tasks—use telemetry data where available.

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