Do early adopters pass on convenience? Access to and intention to use geographically convenient hydrogen stations in California

Abstract

This study addresses two topics relevant to the expanding research on how early adopters of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles (FCVs) evaluate stations. First, we assess FCV adopters' access to available stations near home or on the way when they adopted their FCV. Second, we analyze characteristics of geographically convenient stations that drivers did not intend to use (“unlisted stations”) and compare to those they did (“listed stations”). Responses from a web-based survey distributed to FCV adopters in California indicate that nearly half lacked a station within 10 min’ drive of home, while nearly all had one on the way. Drivers did not intend to use nearly half of their geographically convenient stations. Compared to listed stations, unlisted stations are closer to other available ones and commonly only on the way, and several neighborhood-level differences are observed. These findings are important in the context of efforts to expand FCV uptake.