Location and volume determination of hydrogen refueling stations based on oligopoly equilibrium

Abstract

The energy transformation in China is picking up speed, thanks to the mass development and utilization of various clean energies. As an emerging clean energy, hydrogen energy has been highly recognized, and gradually introduced to industry and transport. As a result, hydrogen fuel cell vehicles (HFCVs) attract a growing attention from the government and the public. However, the is a severe lack of hydrogen refueling stations (HRSs). Therefore, this paper explores into the determination of HRS location and volume. The HRS investment market was treated as an oligopoly market, due to the huge investment and few investors of HRSs. To ensure the long-term balanced development of hydrogenation, it is assumed that all investors fully analyze the possible investment behaviors of competitors and HFCV driver preference before making any investment decision. On this basis, a multi-agent optimization model was established to determine the location and volume of HRSs. The results show that, to avoid supply-demand imbalance induced by information asymmetry, the HRSs should be constructed along with an intelligent software platform, which provides HFCV drivers with rich information on hydrogenation service. Our model helps investors determine the core issues of the HRS, including location, size, and supply scale.