As conventional cars use gasoline stations, FCV use hydrogen stations. What is a hydrogen station?
How hydrogen Stations work
A hydrogen station consists of a dispenser, a hydrogen tank, and a compressor. There are different types of hydrogen stations in operation.

There are three types of Hydrogen stations:
- On-Site hydrogen stations that also produce Hydrogen on-site
- Off-Site hydrogen stations where hydrogen is transported from other sites
- Mobile hydrogen stations that can cover multiple places
Deployment status and future installation plan
Through the collaboration between public and private sectors, nearly 100 Hydrogen stations are planned for installation in 4 major metropolitan areas (Tokyo metropolitan area, Chukyo area, Kansai area, and northern Kyushu area) within 2016.

- Around 100 commercial hydrogen stations are planned for installation within the 4 major metropolitan areas in 2016
- The goal is to increase the number of hydrogen stations to 160 by 2020, and 320 by 2025.
- A sufficient number of hydrogen stations will be available by the second half of 2020s in accordance with the number of FCVs on the road (demand).
- By 2020, around 100 hydrogen stations (in smaller comparative scale) will be renewable energy based.
Safety features in hydrogen stations
Various safety features can be found in a hydrogen station.

The following basic features and policies are applied to ensure the safety operation of hydrogen stations:
- Prevention of hydrogen leakage and early detection
- Preventing contamination in case of leakage to avoid fire
- To have fire mitigation measures in place
Map of Hydrogen refueling stations

from :
IPHE 27th Steering Committee Meeting Hamburg, Germany | April 25-28, 2017
http://www.iphe.net/docs/Meetings/SC27/Country%20Reports/Japan%20Presentation.pdf