A demonstration project of the hydrogen station located on Yakushima Island—Operation and analysis of the station

Since Yakushima Island is rich in rainfall, hydroelectric power produced on the island is sufficient to cover all the energy demands on this island. A hydrogen fueling station was constructed on this island and hydrogen was produced by water electrolysis. The hydrogen production rate is 1.25Nm3/h. The produced hydrogen was used for the driving tests of fuel cell vehicles, while the public acceptance of hydrogen energy was studied. This station is comprised of several systems, including hydrogen generation, hydrogen purification, compression and storage. During the operation of the station, the electricity consumption by each component and the production rate of hydrogen were measured. Since the facility is small, the energy efficiency is low. The total energy efficiency, which was calculated by dividing the potential energy of the compressed hydrogen by the total electrical energy input to the station, was 25% (LHV) and 30% (HHV).