What is a hydrogen refueling station? It is a fueling site that stores compressed hydrogen gas and dispenses it into a fuel cell vehicle's tank at 700 bar (about 10,000 psi) through a sealed nozzle. A fill takes about five minutes and adds 250 to 400 miles of range. As of September 20, 2026 there are 38 open public stations for cars in the United States, 37 of them in California.
How many hydrogen stations are open?
DOE data currently lists 38 open, 14 temporarily unavailable and 14 planned public stations that can fuel a car. Outside California there is 1, in Honolulu. Our station status tracker lists every one with its last-confirmed date, and the map finds the nearest to you.
A station being open is not the same as a station having fuel. Supply interruptions are common enough that California's Hydrogen Fuel Cell Partnership runs a live status map showing which stations are online, limited or offline. Check it before you leave.
How to refuel a hydrogen car
- Park with the fuel door toward the dispenser and switch the car off.
- Pay at the dispenser with a credit card or the fuel card that came with the car.
- Choose the H70 nozzle. Passenger cars use H70; H35 is for buses and trucks.
- Remove the dust cap, push the nozzle onto the car's receptacle and lock it (usually by pulling a handle or collar back until it clicks).
- Press start. The dispenser and the car exchange data over an infrared link, and the station runs a brief pressure test before filling.
- Wait three to five minutes. You will hear hissing and the hose will get very cold.
- When the display shows the fill is complete, unlock and remove the nozzle. If it has frozen to the receptacle, wait a minute. Do not force it.
H35 vs H70: the two pressures
| H70 | H35 | |
|---|---|---|
| Pressure | 700 bar (about 10,000 psi) | 350 bar (about 5,000 psi) |
| Used by | Passenger cars: Mirai, Nexo, CR-V e:FCEV | Transit buses, many trucks, forklifts |
| Pre-cooling | Gas chilled to about −40° | Usually none |
| Fueling standard | SAE J2601 | SAE J2601 (light duty), J2601-2 (heavy duty) |
A car can physically accept an H35 fill at some stations, but it only fills the tank to about half its capacity. Most California retail stations offer both; the station tables on this site show which.
What is inside a station
Hydrogen arrives by truck, as compressed gas in tube trailers or as a cryogenic liquid. On site it is compressed further and held in a cascade of storage tanks at rising pressures, up to about 900 bar. When you fill, the dispenser draws from each bank in turn and runs the gas through a chiller. The fueling protocol, SAE J2601, controls the ramp rate using the tank temperature and pressure the car reports, so the tank never exceeds 85°C.
That chain is why stations are costly, several million dollars each, and why they fail more often than gas pumps. Compressors and chillers are the usual culprits, and a station that has just served several cars may need time to rebuild pressure before it can give the next one a full fill.
Common problems at the pump
- Station offline or out of fuel. The most common problem by far. The February 2026 delivery-trailer accident in Colton left most California stations without fuel for weeks. See the tracker for the timeline.
- Partial fills. When a station is running on low-pressure deliveries or has just served several cars, it may stop at 60 to 80 percent.
- Frozen nozzle. Moisture freezes the nozzle to the car. Wait; it releases in a minute or two.
- Payment or communication errors. End the session, re-seat the nozzle and start again. Each station posts an operator support number.
FAQ
How long does it take to fill a hydrogen car?
About three to five minutes for a full H70 fill when the station is at full pressure. It can take longer, or stop at a partial fill, if the station has just served several cars or is running on a low-pressure supply.
How many hydrogen refueling stations are there in the US?
DOE data lists a few dozen open public stations that can fuel a car, almost all in California, plus one in Honolulu. Our station tracker shows the current count with the date the data was pulled.
What is the difference between H35 and H70?
H70 dispenses hydrogen at 700 bar and is what passenger fuel cell cars use. H35 dispenses at 350 bar and is used by buses, trucks and forklifts. A car filled at H35 only gets about half a tank.
Can I refuel a hydrogen car at home?
No. There is no home hydrogen refueling product for cars in the United States. Fuel cell cars rely entirely on public stations.
Is refueling with hydrogen safe?
The nozzle seals to the car before gas flows, the station pressure-tests the connection, and the fueling protocol limits tank temperature and pressure. Stations are built to the NFPA 2 hydrogen code. Follow the posted instructions and do not force a frozen nozzle.