Rett, Angelika (Technical University of Munich), Fottner, Johannes (Technical University of Munich)

Fleet Optimization for Mobile Hydrogen Refueling Stations in a Selective Pickup and Delivery Problem

Scheduled for presentation during the Regular Session "S34b-Data-Driven Optimization and Governance in Intelligent Urban Mobility" (FR-EA-T34), Friday, November 21, 2025, 13:30−13:50, Surfers Paradise 1

2025 IEEE 28th International Conference on Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITSC), November 18-21, 2025, Gold Coast, Australia

This information is tentative and subject to change. Compiled on October 18, 2025

Abstract

Hydrogen is considered a promising renewable energy source, with demand for clean hydrogen expected to grow significantly in the coming years. The potential of decentralized hydrogen production to supply regional customers has been demonstrated in various projects. To complement this, mobile hydrogen refueling stations (mHRS) can provide location-independent refueling services that do not depend on stationary infrastructure. This increases the accessibility of hydrogen vehicles for companies, such as public transport operators, who would otherwise rely on public refueling stations or face high investment costs for proprietary infrastructure. Efficient operation of a mHRS fleet requires selecting the best suited hydrogen suppliers and determining the optimal fleet size based on customer demands to solve the underlying pickup and delivery problem (PDP). This paper presents a mathematical model of a selective PDP, aiming to minimize the size of a mHRS fleet that sources hydrogen from decentralized production sites. The model is applied to a scenario from the public transport sector using an exact solution approach. Depending on the amounts ordered by customers and the capacity of the vehicles, the minimum fleet size is determined, which is shown to be strongly influenced by the imposed tour time limit.