This study focuses on the development of a methodological framework for the design of a five-echelon hydrogen supply chain (HSC) (energy source, production, storage, transportation and fuelling station) considering the geographic level of implementation. The formulation based on mixed integer linear programming involves a multi-criteria approach where three objectives have to be optimised simultaneously, i.e., cost, global warming potential and safety risk. The objective is twofold: first, to test the robustness of the method proposed in De-Leon (2014) from a regional to a national geographic scale and, secondly, to examine the consistency of the results. A new phase of data collection and demand scenarios are performed to be adapted to the French case based on the analysis of roadmaps. In this case study, the ArcGIS (R) spatial tool is used to locate the supply chain elements before and after optimisation. The multi-objective optimisation approach by the e-constraint method is applied, analysed and discussed. Finally, a comparison between the results of different geographic scale cases is carried out. (C) 2015 The Institution of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.