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Climate change is probably the most relevant global challenge. For this reason, governments are promoting energy efficiency programmes, carbon capture technologies, and renewable energies as a way to reduce carbon emissions and mitigate climate change. Hydrogen is a clean alternative to fossil fuels in automotive applications. In this context, the objective of this project is to find the best design of a hydrogen refuelling station in terms of the number of banks and their size, having as a final aim the most cost-efficient design. This study suggests that, from an economic point of view, a state of charge for the vehicle of 100% is not adequate, since it requires very large high-pressure banks at the station, which increases significantly its setup costs. The study finds that high-pressure banks have to be bigger in volume than the low-pressure banks to minimise the total cost of the station, including setup and operational costs along its timespan. Finally, the project shows that the optimal number of banks is 4 or a maximum of 5. As a side conclusion, these results have practical implications for firms, as they might reduce the time spent in the design process of a hydrogen refuelling station. (C) 2018 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.