A refueling station can also be the place where hydrogen is produced. In Invercargill, New Zealand, HWR Hydrogen intends to bring these activities together in a unit with a 1 MW electrolyzer.
In a statement released on September 22, 2026, supplier Plug Power announced the shipment of equipment intended for hydrogen production for a fleet of trucks that uses both hydrogen and diesel. The announcement does not confirm the start of operations at the facility.
This case illustrates a supply configuration that is of interest to logistics operators: bringing generation and consumption together at the same point. Its potential depends on how the installation fits into the routes, demand, and energy availability of the fleet.
What changes when fuel is produced at the gas station?
In local hydrogen production by electrolysis, electricity and water feed the electrolyzer, where the separation of water into hydrogen and oxygen occurs. The U.S. Department of Energy describes equipment for different scales, including distributed applications and large centralized units.
HWR presents a model that adds electrolyzers to selected locations in its supply network. The design includes compression, storage, and dispensers—the equipment that transfers the gas to vehicles. The company also envisions the possibility of storing hydrogen in transportable units.
Therefore, producing hydrogen closer to the consumer can reduce the need to transport hydrogen from another facility, but it does not eliminate the infrastructure between generation and supply. The operation still needs to deliver the gas in the conditions required by the vehicle.
The fleet's demand needs to fit into the station's routine.
For a transport company, the daily volume of fuel is only part of the necessary information. A station may face concentrated demand at certain times, even when total consumption seems compatible with its production capacity.
Imagine a fleet that returns to base at the end of its shift and needs to depart again in the morning. When evaluating this configuration, it is advisable to separate:
- How much hydrogen do vehicles consume throughout the day?
- How many refuelings need to occur in sequence and at what intervals?
- What reserves will be needed during production or maintenance shutdowns?
This distinction appears in the station analysis models of the U.S. Department of Energy's H2A program. Among the parameters considered are station utilization, number of refueling points, and capacity for consecutive refuelings.
The practical consequence is to evaluate fleet production and service together. An electrolyzer with adequate capacity for daily consumption cannot, on its own, solve a peak demand at the dispenser.
Less transportation does not necessarily mean lower costs in any scenario.
The proximity between generation and consumption alters the cost composition. The Department of Energy points out that centralized facilities can take advantage of greater production scale, while local units tend to have lower delivery costs but may face higher production costs due to operating at lower volumes.
This balance prevents an automatic conclusion in favor of any configuration. For an investment decision, the comparison must consider the cost of hydrogen actually available for refueling, including energy, operation, and necessary infrastructure.
Long-term utilization is also important. As an evaluation exercise, a projected fleet expansion should be compared to initial demand, avoiding calculating revenue as if all planned vehicles were already consuming fuel. Reserve capacity can be part of the strategy, but its cost needs to be included in the analysis.
Hydrogen-diesel trucks require a specific reading.
In the model described by HWR, hydrogen is introduced into a combustion engine that continues to use diesel. This differs from a fuel cell electric vehicle, in which hydrogen powers an electricity generation system.
The company states that its adapted trucks can operate solely on diesel when hydrogen is unavailable. This characteristic should be factored into the operational continuity assessment, without being confused with a guaranteed hydrogen supply or zero-emission transport. Environmental performance must consider both the fuel actually consumed and the gas produced.
Brazil is also investigating production in conjunction with supply.
In February 2025, the University of São Paulo announced the development of tests at an experimental station on the University campus. The project uses ethanol reforming to produce hydrogen intended for evaluations in buses and light vehicles.
The route is different from the electrolysis projected in the New Zealand case. The point of comparison is the approximation between production, supply, and use, not an equivalence of efficiency, cost, or maturity. The Brazilian experience helps to show why the available input and the local context need to be included in the discussion about infrastructure.
Two configurations to compare
Na análise de um projeto para frotas, vale construir pelo menos dois cenários com a mesma demanda e os mesmos requisitos de atendimento:
- Local production. Include generation, electrical connection, water, compression, storage, supply, and on-site operational support.
- External supply. Includes hydrogen purchase, transportation, receiving, storage, and preparation for refueling, according to the chosen configuration.
Comparing full scopes avoids comparing the production cost of one alternative with the final supply price of the other.
The Invercargill project offers a case study for this integration. For operators, the relevant outcome will be the ability to service vehicles in a real-world setting, with known costs and availability consistent with the transport service. It is in this relationship between the plant and the fleet that local production can demonstrate its value.
