Information processing device, information processing method, and program

Abstract

This invention provides an information processing device, an information processing method, and a program that can solve the problem of hydrogen supply becoming impossible midway due to the pressure in the target tank becoming higher than the pressure in the hydrogen container. [Solution] The information processing device of the embodiment includes a processing unit that calculates multiple hydrogen container delivery routes that shorten the total travel distance between bases, based on the distance between bases including a refueling base where hydrogen is supplied to the hydrogen container to be delivered and a delivery base where the target to be supplied with hydrogen from the hydrogen container is located, the required hydrogen pressure of the target to be supplied, the pressure of the target to be supplied at a preset timing, the volume of the target to be supplied, the pressure of the hydrogen container, and the volume of the hydrogen container, using a search method, and determines whether it is possible to supply hydrogen to the target using hydrogen containers available at the refueling base and the delivery base, in order of the shortest total travel distance among the calculated delivery routes.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Embodiments of the present invention relate to an information processing apparatus, an information processing method, and a program.

Background Art

[0002] Hydrogen energy has been attracting attention for decarbonization. In the utilization of hydrogen for decarbonization, not only utilization but also a hydrogen supply chain including hydrogen production, delivery, and storage has been attracting attention. In hydrogen delivery in the hydrogen supply chain, it is necessary to put hydrogen produced at a hydrogen supply base into a hydrogen storage container (an example of a hydrogen container) and transport it to each hydrogen demand base. At this time, by optimizing the delivery route and the like of each hydrogen storage container, it is possible to suppress carbon dioxide emissions during delivery. In conventional patents, consideration has been given to creating an allocation schedule for hydrogen storage containers that minimizes the total travel distance while taking into account the pressure inside the hydrogen storage container during hydrogen delivery.

[0003] In the conventional method, the hydrogen storage container is only assigned to the demand base every day, and the delivery route is not optimized. For the optimization of the hydrogen supply chain, a technology for optimizing the delivery route of a delivery truck or the like is considered necessary. At this time, it is important to consider the pressure difference between the hydrogen storage container and the supply target.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Patent Document 3

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] However, the aforementioned technologies have not developed methods for optimizing delivery routes while taking into account the pressure constraints of hydrogen storage containers.

[0006] The present invention aims to provide an information processing device, an information processing method, and a program that can solve the problem of hydrogen supply becoming impossible midway due to the pressure in the tank being supplied becoming higher than the pressure in the hydrogen container. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The information processing device of this embodiment includes a processing unit that calculates multiple hydrogen container delivery routes that shorten the total travel distance between locations, based on the distance between locations including a refueling station where hydrogen is supplied to the hydrogen container to be delivered and a delivery station where the target to be supplied with hydrogen from the hydrogen container is located, the required hydrogen pressure of the target to be supplied, the pressure of the target to be supplied at a preset timing, the volume of the target to be supplied, the pressure of the hydrogen container, and the volume of the hydrogen container, using a search method, and determines whether it is possible to supply hydrogen to the target using hydrogen containers available at the refueling station and the delivery station, in order of the shortest total travel distance among the calculated delivery routes. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0008] [Figure 1] A diagram showing an example of hydrogen delivery between locations in the first embodiment. [Figure 2] A diagram illustrating an example of a method for supplying hydrogen from a hydrogen container to a target in the first embodiment. [Figure 3] A diagram illustrating an example of considering the pressure of the hydrogen container and the target of supply in the hydrogen supply method of the first embodiment. [Figure 4] Block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a delivery route optimization device according to the first embodiment. [Figure 5] A flowchart showing an example of the processing flow in the delivery route optimization device according to the first embodiment. [Figure 6] This figure shows an example of input data for the distance between supply bases according to the first embodiment. [Figure 7] A diagram showing an example of input data for the hydrogen container and calculation time according to the first embodiment. [Figure 8] This figure shows an example of input data for supply bases and supply targets according to the first embodiment. [Figure 9] Block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a delivery route optimization device according to the second embodiment. [Figure 10] This figure shows an example of input data for hydrogen container type information at a manufacturing site according to the second embodiment. [Figure 11] A flowchart showing an example of the processing flow in the delivery route optimization device according to the second embodiment. [Figure 12] Explanatory diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the apparatus according to the first and second embodiments. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0009] Preferred embodiments of the information processing apparatus, information processing method, and program according to this invention will be described in detail below with reference to the attached drawings.

[0010] (First embodiment) Figure 1 shows an example of hydrogen distribution between locations in the first embodiment. As shown in Figure 1, in this embodiment, the hydrogen container 12 to be distributed is loaded onto a truck 11 at a hydrogen production base H (an example of a replenishment base; for example, it may be a production base that produces hydrogen) where hydrogen is supplied to the hydrogen container 12. The truck 11 then transports the hydrogen container 12 to demand bases A and B, and supplies hydrogen to demand bases A and B. Here, demand bases A and B are examples of distribution bases where the supply target 13 (see Figure 2) that receives hydrogen from the hydrogen container 12 is located.

[0011] Figure 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a method for supplying hydrogen from a hydrogen container to a target in the first embodiment. In this embodiment, a hydrogen container 12 transported by truck 11 is placed at a demand site, and hydrogen is supplied from the hydrogen container 12 to an internal tank such as an FC or FCFL, which is an example of a target 13.

[0012] FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining an example of considering the pressure of a hydrogen container and a supply target in the hydrogen supply method according to the first embodiment. When supplying hydrogen from the hydrogen container 12 to the supply target 13, it is necessary to consider the difference (internal pressure difference) between the pressure inside the hydrogen container 12 used for supplying hydrogen and the pressure inside the supply target 13. As shown in FIG. 3(A), when the pressure inside the hydrogen container 12 is higher than the pressure inside the supply target 13, hydrogen can be supplied. However, as shown in FIG. 3(B), when the pressure inside the hydrogen container 12 is equal to or lower than the pressure inside the supply target 13, hydrogen cannot be supplied any further.

[0013] FIG. 4 is a block diagram for explaining an example of the configuration of a delivery route optimization device according to the first embodiment. The delivery route optimization device 400 (an example of an information processing device) according to the present embodiment has, as shown in FIG. 4, a data reception unit 401, a data transmission unit 402, a delivery route calculation unit 403, a delivery route storage unit 404, and a delivery route pressure constraint confirmation unit 405.

[0014] As shown in FIG. 4, the data reception unit 401 receives from the manufacturing site database (manufacturing site DB) of the manufacturing site the pressure and volume of the hydrogen container to be delivered, the pressure and volume of the hydrogen container placed at the supply destination, the pressure of the supply target (hereinafter referred to as the pressure at a predetermined timing) at a preset timing (for example, the timing for calculating the delivery route of the hydrogen container), the required hydrogen pressure of the supply target, the distance between supply bases, the calculation time of the integer programming solver, etc. Among the above information received by the data reception unit 401, the pressure and volume of the hydrogen container placed at the supply destination, the pressure at a predetermined timing of the supply target, and the required hydrogen pressure of the supply target are assumed to be transmitted from the delivery site database (delivery site DB) of each delivery site. Here, the required hydrogen pressure may be the pressure required for supplying hydrogen to the supply target. Also, here, the calculation time of the integer programming solver may be the limit time for calculation by the integer calculation solver. Also, here, the distance between supply bases may be the distance between bases including the manufacturing site and the delivery site (demand site).

[0015] The data receiving unit 401 transmits the received supply point - to - supply point distance to the delivery route calculation unit 403. Also, the data receiving unit 401 transmits the calculation time (the received calculation time) stored in the delivery route storage unit 503b to the delivery route calculation unit 403. Further, the data receiving unit 401 transmits the received other information to the delivery route pressure constraint confirmation unit 405.

[0016] In the delivery route calculation unit 403, a delivery route that visits all supply targets once and then returns to the manufacturing site is calculated using a search method (e.g., iterative local search method) for solving the traveling salesman problem, such as an integer programming solver (e.g., gurobi, cplex). Then, the delivery route calculation unit 403 accumulates the calculated delivery route in the delivery route storage unit 404. Here, the integer programming solver is an example of a search method that outputs one optimal solution from among a plurality of optimal solutions (in this embodiment, delivery routes) when there are a plurality of optimal solutions. The delivery route calculation unit 403 continuously runs the integer programming solver until the calculation time is reached, and sequentially saves the calculated delivery route and the total moving distance of the delivery route in the delivery route storage unit 404.

[0017] That is, the delivery route calculation unit 4 is an example of a delivery route calculation unit that calculates a plurality of delivery routes that shorten the total moving distance between supply points using an integer programming solver based on the distance between supply points, required hydrogen pressure, pressure at a predetermined timing of the supply target, volume of the supply target, pressure and volume of the hydrogen container, etc. In that case, the delivery route calculation unit 403 receives inputs such as the distance between supply points, required hydrogen pressure, pressure at a predetermined timing of the supply target, volume of the supply target, pressure and volume of the hydrogen container, etc. from the data receiving unit 401, etc.

[0018] In the delivery route storage unit 404, the delivery routes calculated (output) by the delivery route calculation unit 403 are sorted in ascending order of the total moving distance and saved as a route list. That is, the delivery route storage unit 404 is an example of a delivery route storage unit that accumulates the delivery routes calculated by the delivery route calculation unit 403. Also, the delivery route storage unit 404 saves the delivery routes obtained in the process of calculating (searching) the delivery routes in ascending order of the total moving distance.

[0019] The delivery route pressure constraint verification unit 405 extracts delivery routes in order from the route list (list of delivery routes) stored in the delivery route storage unit 404, and checks whether there are any combinations that can supply hydrogen by sequentially examining the supply targets based on the route list and solving the assignment problem (for example, calculation by an integer programming solver). In other words, the delivery route pressure constraint verification unit 405 is an example of a delivery route feasibility determination unit that determines whether it is possible to supply hydrogen to the supply targets using hydrogen containers available at the manufacturing site and each delivery base, in order of the shortest total travel distance among the delivery routes calculated by the search method. In other words, the delivery route pressure constraint verification unit 405 determines whether there are any combinations of hydrogen containers that can supply hydrogen according to the delivery route, starting from the first delivery route. This makes it possible to efficiently optimize the delivery route in a complex optimization problem that includes hydrogen pressure constraints. The delivery route pressure constraint verification unit 405 also outputs the hydrogen containers to be assigned to each hydrogen supply destination (for example, a delivery base), the delivery route, and the data transmission unit 402, etc. In this embodiment, the delivery route pressure constraint confirmation unit 405 retrieves the delivery routes stored in the delivery route storage unit 404 in order of shortest total travel distance, and determines whether it is possible to supply hydrogen to the target using hydrogen containers available at the manufacturing site and each delivery site.

[0020] Figure 5 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing flow in the delivery route optimization device according to the first embodiment. Figure 6 shows an example of input data for the distance between supply bases according to the first embodiment. Figure 7 shows an example of input data for hydrogen containers and calculation time according to the first embodiment. Figure 8 shows an example of input data for supply bases and supply targets according to the first embodiment.

[0021] The manufacturing site receives information from each distribution site regarding the hydrogen demand of the supply site (required hydrogen pressure for the target), the container pressure of the supply site (pressure of the target at a predetermined timing), and the pressure and volume of the hydrogen containers located at the supply destination (supply site), and sets the calculation time. Next, the manufacturing site transmits the distance between supply sites between all sites (travel distance shown in Figure 6) and the calculation time of the integer planning solver (solver calculation limit shown in Figure 8) to the distribution route optimization device 400.

[0022] The delivery route calculation unit 403 inputs the distance between supply bases into the integer programming solver (step S501). The delivery route calculation unit 403 calculates the optimal delivery route that visits each base once and returns to the hydrogen production base using the integer programming solver, up to the solver calculation time limit (step S502). For example, the delivery route calculation unit 403 may calculate (search) the delivery route by solving the Traveling Salesperson Problem: TSP. The delivery route calculation unit 403 also stores all the delivery routes obtained during the integer programming solver calculation in the delivery route storage unit 403b (step S502).

[0023] The delivery route storage unit 404 sorts all input delivery routes in order of shortest total travel distance and saves them in list format (step S503). The delivery route pressure constraint confirmation unit 405 extracts the delivery route from the delivery routes (elements) stored in the delivery route storage unit 404 that has the shortest total travel distance and does not make hydrogen supply impossible due to the internal pressure difference between the hydrogen container and the supply target. In other words, the delivery route pressure constraint confirmation unit 405 extracts the first element (delivery route) (shortest total travel distance) in the delivery route storage unit 404 (step S504).

[0024] Next, the delivery route pressure constraint verification unit 405 inputs the extracted delivery route, a list of the volume of hydrogen containers to be loaded onto trucks from the manufacturing site and the pressure and volume of hydrogen containers (supply targets) located at the supply destinations (see Figure 7), and a list of the target pressure and pressure at predetermined timings (see Figure 8) to the integer programming solver (step S505). Here, the delivery route pressure constraint verification unit 405 instructs the integer programming solver to calculate a problem (for example, an assignment problem with order constraints) that involves visiting supply bases in the order of the extracted delivery route and determining whether there is a combination of hydrogen containers that can supply all of the supply targets at each supply base (step S506). If the calculation result by the integer programming solver is feasible (step S507: No), the delivery route pressure constraint verification unit 405 determines that an optimal delivery route that can supply hydrogen and a combination of hydrogen containers for that route have been found, and outputs the combination of delivery route and hydrogen containers (step S508).

[0025] If the integer programming solver's calculation result is unexecutable or the integer programming solver's calculation time is reached (step S507: Yes), the delivery route pressure constraint verification unit 405 determines that no combination of hydrogen containers is found in the extracted delivery route and deletes the first element in the delivery route storage unit 404 (step S509). If there are two or more unverified delivery routes in the delivery route storage unit 404 (step S510: Yes), the delivery route pressure constraint verification unit 405 erases the first delivery route stored in the delivery route storage unit 403b (step S511) and extracts the next delivery route and recalculates (step S504). If there are no two or more unverified delivery routes in the delivery route storage unit 404 (step S510: No), the delivery route pressure constraint verification unit 405 outputs unexecutable (step S512).

[0026] Thus, the delivery route optimization device 400 according to the first embodiment can optimize the delivery route while taking into account the pressure of the hydrogen container, thus solving the problem of hydrogen becoming unsupplyable midway due to the pressure in the tank to be supplied being higher than the pressure in the hydrogen container.

[0027] (Second embodiment) This embodiment describes an example where, if the hydrogen containers cannot meet the demand of all hydrogen supply destinations, hydrogen containers are added one by one to the distribution route, starting with the lowest volume containers located at the manufacturing site, and kept full. In the following description, configurations similar to those in the above embodiment will not be described.

[0028] Figure 9 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a delivery route optimization device according to the second embodiment. Figure 10 is a diagram showing an example of input data for hydrogen container type information at a manufacturing site according to the second embodiment. In this embodiment, the delivery route pressure constraint confirmation unit 901 of the delivery route optimization device 900 adds hydrogen containers to the delivery route with the shortest total travel distance obtained by the delivery route calculation unit 403 until a combination of hydrogen containers is found that can supply hydrogen. That is, if the hydrogen containers cannot meet the demand of all hydrogen supply destinations, the delivery route pressure constraint confirmation unit 901 adds hydrogen containers one by one to the delivery route, starting with the lowest volume containers, in a full state. Therefore, in this embodiment, input information on the volume and maximum pressure of each type of hydrogen container at the manufacturing site (see Figure 10) is added to the input information from the manufacturing site to the data receiving unit 401.

[0029] Figure 11 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing flow in a delivery route optimization device according to the second embodiment. In this embodiment, the delivery route pressure constraint confirmation unit 901 checks whether the allocation problem of hydrogen containers originally intended to be loaded onto trucks to the extracted delivery routes cannot be solved by an integer programming solver (step S1000). If it is impossible to solve with an integer programming solver (step S1000: Yes), the delivery route pressure constraint confirmation unit 901 saves a list P of maximum pressure (pressure when full) and a list V of volume for the types of hydrogen containers at the manufacturing site, in ascending order from smallest to largest volume (steps S1001, step S1002).

[0030] Here, the delivery route pressure constraint verification unit 901 prepares a pointer i to refer to these lists (step S1003), and adds the i-th element of list V (type of hydrogen container) to the beginning of list V of the volume of hydrogen containers to be loaded onto the delivery truck, and the i-th element of list P (type of hydrogen container) to the beginning of list P of the pressure of hydrogen containers to be loaded onto the delivery truck (step S1004). After that, the delivery route pressure constraint verification unit 901 performs a recalculation with the integer programming solver and if the calculation time is reached or it becomes impossible to perform (step S1005: Yes), it checks whether the pointer i is pointing to the end of list V (the hydrogen container with the largest volume) (step S1006). If the recalculation with the integer programming solver is performed and the calculation time has not been reached or it is possible to perform (step S1005: No), the delivery route pressure constraint verification unit 901 outputs the combination of delivery route and hydrogen container (step S508).

[0031] If pointer i is not the last element in list V (step S1006: No), the delivery route pressure constraint confirmation unit 901 shifts pointer i, removes the first element of volume and pressure of hydrogen containers to be loaded onto the delivery truck from lists V and P (step S1007), and returns to the block where element pointer i is added (step S1008). If pointer i is the last element in list V (step S1006: Yes), the delivery route pressure constraint confirmation unit 901 does not remove the elements of volume and pressure of hydrogen containers to be loaded onto the delivery truck, resets pointer i, and repeats the container addition process (step S1003).

[0032] Thus, according to the delivery route optimization device 900 of the second embodiment, by adding a method for adding hydrogen containers, it is possible to reliably create a feasible solution using the delivery route with the shortest total travel distance obtained by the delivery route calculation unit 403a.

[0033] At least a portion of each of the above components (data receiving unit 401, data transmission unit 402, delivery route calculation unit 403, and delivery route pressure constraint confirmation units 405, 901) may be implemented by one or more processing units. Each of the above components may be implemented by, for example, one or more processors. For example, each of the above components may be implemented by having a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) execute a program, i.e., by software. Each of the above components may be implemented by a dedicated processor such as an IC (Integrated Circuit), i.e., by hardware. Each of the above components may be implemented by using a combination of software and hardware. When multiple processors are used, each processor may implement one of the above components, or two or more of the above components.

[0034] Next, the hardware configuration of the devices (delivery route optimization devices 400, 900) according to the first and second embodiments will be described using Figure 12. Figure 12 is an explanatory diagram showing examples of the hardware configuration of the devices according to the first and second embodiments.

[0035] The apparatus of the first and second embodiments includes a control device such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 51, a storage device such as a ROM (Read Only Memory) 52 and a RAM (Random Access Memory) 53, a communication interface 54 for communication via a network, and a bus 61 for connecting the various parts.

[0036] The programs to be executed in the devices of the first and second embodiments are provided pre-installed in a ROM 52 or the like.

[0037] The programs executed by the apparatus of the first and second embodiments may be configured to be provided as computer program products by recording them in an installable or executable file format onto a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD-ROM (Compact Disk Read Only Memory), a flexible disk (FD), a CD-R (Compact Disk Recordable), or a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk).

[0038] Furthermore, the programs executed by the devices of the first and second embodiments may be configured to be stored on a computer connected to a network such as the Internet and provided by being downloaded via the network. Alternatively, the programs executed by the devices of the first and second embodiments may be provided or distributed via a network such as the Internet.

[0039] The programs executed in the apparatus of the first and second embodiments can cause the computer to function as a component of the delivery route optimization devices 400 and 900 described above. This computer can read and execute programs from a computer-readable storage medium into its main memory using the CPU 51.

[0040] (Configuration Example 1) Information processing device comprising: a processing unit that calculates multiple delivery routes for the hydrogen container that shorten the total travel distance between the bases, based on the distance between bases including a refueling base for supplying hydrogen to a hydrogen container to be delivered and a delivery base where a target for which hydrogen is supplied from the hydrogen container is located, the hydrogen pressure required by the target for supply, the pressure of the target for supply at a preset timing, the volume of the target for supply, the pressure of the hydrogen container, and the volume of the hydrogen container, by a search method, and determines whether it is possible to supply hydrogen to the target for supply using the hydrogen container available at the refueling base and the delivery base, in order of the shortest total travel distance among the calculated delivery routes. (Configuration example 2) The processing unit stores the calculated delivery routes in a delivery route storage unit, and retrieves the delivery routes stored in the delivery route storage unit in order of shortest total travel distance, as described in Configuration Example 1. (Configuration Example 3) The delivery route storage unit stores the delivery routes obtained in the delivery route calculation process in order of shortest total travel distance, The processing unit determines whether there is a combination of hydrogen containers that can supply hydrogen along the delivery route starting from the first delivery route, as described in Configuration Example 2, which is the information processing device. (Configuration example 4) The processing unit, if the hydrogen containers cannot meet the demand of all hydrogen supply destinations, adds hydrogen containers to the delivery route one by one, starting with the lowest volume containers and filling them to capacity, at the supply bases, according to any one of the configuration examples 1 to 3. (Configuration example 5) The processing unit receives input of the distance between the sites, the required hydrogen pressure of the supply target, the pressure of the supply target at a preset timing, the volume of the supply target, the pressure of the hydrogen container, and the volume of the hydrogen container, as described in any one of Configuration Examples 1 to 4. (Configuration example 6) The processing unit is an information processing device according to any one of Configuration Examples 1 to 5, which outputs the hydrogen containers to be allocated to each hydrogen supply destination and the delivery routes. (Configuration example 7) An information processing method performed by an information processing device, The steps include calculating multiple delivery routes for the hydrogen container that shorten the total travel distance between the bases, based on the distance between bases including a refueling base where hydrogen is supplied to the hydrogen container to be delivered and a delivery base where the target to be supplied with hydrogen from the hydrogen container is located, the hydrogen pressure required by the target to be supplied, the pressure of the target to be supplied at a preset timing, the volume of the target to be supplied, the pressure of the hydrogen container, and the volume of the hydrogen container, using a search method; The steps include determining, by search method, whether it is possible to supply hydrogen to the target of supply using the hydrogen containers available at the supply base and the delivery base, in order of the shortest total travel distance among the calculated delivery routes, Information processing methods, including those mentioned above. (Configuration example 8) On the computer, The steps include calculating multiple delivery routes that shorten the total travel distance between the bases, based on the distance between bases including a refueling base where hydrogen is supplied to the hydrogen container to be delivered and a delivery base where the target to be supplied with hydrogen from the hydrogen container is located, the hydrogen pressure required by the target to be supplied, the pressure of the target to be supplied at a preset timing, the volume of the target to be supplied, the pressure of the hydrogen container, and the volume of the hydrogen container, using a search method; The steps include determining, by search method, whether it is possible to supply hydrogen to the target of supply using the hydrogen containers available at the supply base and the delivery base, in order of the shortest total travel distance among the calculated delivery routes, A program to execute.

[0041] While several embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments are presented as examples only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be carried out in a variety of other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. These embodiments and their variations are included in the scope and spirit of the invention, as well as in the claims of the invention and its equivalents. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0042] 51 CPU 52 ROM 53 RAM 54 Communication I / F 400,900 Delivery Route Optimization Device 401 Data Receiving Unit 402 Data Transmission Unit 403 Delivery Route Calculation Unit 404 Delivery Route Memory Unit 405,901 Delivery Route Pressure Constraint Verification Section

Claims

1. Information processing device comprising: a processing unit that calculates multiple delivery routes for the hydrogen container that shorten the total travel distance between the bases, based on the distance between bases including a refueling base for supplying hydrogen to a hydrogen container to be delivered and a delivery base where a target for which hydrogen is supplied from the hydrogen container is located, the hydrogen pressure required by the target for supply, the pressure of the target for supply at a preset timing, the volume of the target for supply, the pressure of the hydrogen container, and the volume of the hydrogen container, by a search method, and determines whether it is possible to supply hydrogen to the target for supply using the hydrogen container available at the refueling base and the delivery base, in order of the shortest total travel distance among the calculated delivery routes.

2. The processing unit stores the calculated delivery routes in a delivery route storage unit, and retrieves the delivery routes stored in the delivery route storage unit in order of shortest total travel distance, as described in claim 1.

3. The delivery route storage unit stores the delivery routes obtained in the delivery route calculation process in order of shortest total travel distance, The processing unit determines whether there is a combination of hydrogen containers that can supply hydrogen along the delivery route starting from the first delivery route, as described in claim 2.

4. The processing unit, if the hydrogen containers cannot meet the demand of all hydrogen supply destinations, adds the hydrogen containers to the delivery route one by one, starting with the lowest volume and filling them to capacity, from the hydrogen containers at the supply bases, according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

5. The processing unit receives input of the distance between the sites, the required hydrogen pressure of the supply target, the pressure of the supply target at a preset timing, the volume of the supply target, the pressure of the hydrogen container, and the volume of the hydrogen container, according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

6. The processing unit outputs the hydrogen containers to be allocated to each hydrogen supply destination and the delivery route, as described in any one of claims 1 to 3.

7. An information processing method performed by an information processing device, The steps include calculating multiple delivery routes for the hydrogen container that shorten the total travel distance between the bases, based on the distance between bases including a refueling base where hydrogen is supplied to the hydrogen container to be delivered and a delivery base where the target to be supplied with hydrogen from the hydrogen container is located, the hydrogen pressure required by the target to be supplied, the pressure of the target to be supplied at a preset timing, the volume of the target to be supplied, the pressure of the hydrogen container, and the volume of the hydrogen container, using a search method; The steps include determining, by search method, whether it is possible to supply hydrogen to the target of supply using the hydrogen containers available at the supply base and the delivery base, in order of the shortest total travel distance among the calculated delivery routes, Information processing methods, including those mentioned above.

8. On the computer, The steps include calculating multiple delivery routes that shorten the total travel distance between the bases, based on the distance between bases including a refueling base where hydrogen is supplied to the hydrogen container to be delivered and a delivery base where the target to be supplied with hydrogen from the hydrogen container is located, the hydrogen pressure required by the target to be supplied, the pressure of the target to be supplied at a preset timing, the volume of the target to be supplied, the pressure of the hydrogen container, and the volume of the hydrogen container, using a search method; The steps include determining, by search method, whether it is possible to supply hydrogen to the target of supply using the hydrogen containers available at the supply base and the delivery base, in order of the shortest total travel distance among the calculated delivery routes, A program to execute.

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