The number of hydrogen stations deployed globally has surpassed the 1,000-mark, according to a study by Information Trends. China represents roughly one-third of global deployments, but the US lags far behind with less than 100 hydrogen stations.

The second highest hydrogen station deployments after China are in Japan, followed by Korea, said Shakeel Ahmed, Senior Analyst at Information Trends. Other Asia-Pacific countries with aggressive plans for hydrogen station deployments include Australia, New Zealand, and India. Another four Asia-Pacific countries have also deployed hydrogen stations.

So far, Germany is the only European country with more than 100 hydrogen stations deployed, the study said. Other European countries aggressively deploying hydrogen stations include France, the UK, Slovenia, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Spain.

According to the study, Europe is rapidly growing its hydrogen fuel cell ecosystem, but limited hydrogen station deployments have also occurred in the Middle East and Africa. Including deployments in the Middle East and Africa, a total of 30 countries in the region have deployed hydrogen stations.

Most of the hydrogen stations deployed so far were designed for hydrogen fuel cell passenger vehicles, said Ahmed. However, there is an acceleration in the deployments of hydrogen stations for commercial vehicles, as well as locomotives and maritime vessels.