A systematic review of life cycle assessment of hydrogen for road transport use

Abstract

This study conducted a systematic literature review of the technical aspects and methodological choices in life cycle assessment (LCA) studies of the use of hydrogen for road transport. More than 70 scientific papers published during 2000–2021 were reviewed, in which more than 350 case studies of the use of hydrogen in the automotive sector were found. Only some studies used hybrid LCA and energetic input–output LCA, whereas most studies addressed attributional process-based LCA. A categorization based on the life cycle scope distinguished case studies that addressed the well-to-tank (WTT), well-to-wheel (WTW), and complete life cycle approaches. Furthermore, based on the hydrogen production process, these case studies were classified into four categories: thermochemical, electrochemical, thermal–electrochemical, and biochemical. Moreover, based on the hydrogen production site, the case studies were classified as centralized, on-site, and on-board. The fuel cell vehicle passenger car was the most commonly used vehicle. The functional unit for the WTT studies was mostly mass or energy, and vehicle distance for the WTW and complete life cycle studies. Global warming potential (GWP) and energy consumption were the most influential categories. Apart from the Greenhouse Gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy Use in Transportation model and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change for assessment of the GWP, the Centrum voor Milieukunde Leiden method was most widely used in other impact categories. Most of the articles under review were comparative LCA studies on different hydrogen pathways and powertrains. The findings provide baseline data not only for large-scale applications, but also for improving the efficiency of hydrogen use in road transport.