Geospatial modelling of the hydrogen infrastructure in France in order to identify the most suited supply chains

One major issue that is source of uncertainty holding back the hydrogen deployment, is the infrastructure development needs and costs. Different studies in the literature tackled this issue in France but partially, assessing either one part of the hydrogen supply chain or the whole supply chain but for one possible delivery pathway. This paper compares five hydrogen pathways, going from the production step up to the fuelling station and tackling pipeline and truck options. In order to capture the time evolution aspect of the infrastructure deployment needs, three demand scenarios are investigated, going from 1% of market penetration up to 15%. Additionally, two scenarios are taken into account when it comes to the location of the hydrogen production sites vis-à-vis the demand centres. According to the results, economies of scale that can be driven by higher market penetration rates have significant impact on lowering the hydrogen cost. •Infrastructure costs are source of uncertainty hampering the hydrogen deployment.•Five hydrogen delivery pathways, going up to the refuelling stations, are compared.•Three scenarios are investigated for the hydrogen demand in passenger mobility.•GIS modelling allowed to visualize a potential infrastructure deployment.•The economies of scale have significant impact on lowering the hydrogen cost.