Globally, over 1,600 hydrogen fuel cell vehicles were sold or leased in the first half of 2017, according to Information Trends, a Washington-based market consulting company. More than 1,000 of these vehicles were sold in California, the only state in the U.S. where these vehicles are commercially available. Less than 500 of these vehicles were sold in Japan and Korea. In Europe, only 5 percent of these vehicles were sold.

The sales of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles are infinitesimal compared to the overall automobile market, said Naqi Jaffery, President and CEO of Information Trends, but these sales need to be looked in the context of the limited number of hydrogen stations.

In the first half of 2017, 27 hydrogen stations were commissioned, talking the total number of stations to a little over 250, Information Trends disclosed. Of the total number of stations, the highest installations are in Asia, followed by Europe. Only 16 percent of the stations are deployed in California.

According to Information Trends, hydrogen stations in most regions support compression of 35 MPa and 70 MPa, but Japan is the only country that has moved rapidly to deploy 82 MPa stations, and Korea is considering doing the same. Vehicles supporting 82 MPa have a higher range, giving automakers supporting the specification a competitive advantage. Close to 80 percent of hydrogen stations in Japan now support 82 MPa.

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