Abstract
In order to achieve gradual but timely decarbonisation of the transport sector, it is essential to evaluate which types of vehicles provide a suitable environmental performance while allowing the use of hydrogen as a fuel. This work compares the environmental life-cycle performance of three different passenger cars fuelled by hydrogen: a fuel cell electric vehicle, an internal combustion engine car, and a hybrid electric vehicle. Besides, two vehicles that use hydrogen in a mixture with natural gas or gasoline were considered. In all cases, hydrogen produced by wind power electrolysis was assumed. The resultant life-cycle profiles were benchmarked against those of a compressed natural gas car and a hybrid electric vehicle fed with natural gas. Vehicle infrastructure was identified as the main source of environmental burdens. Nevertheless, the three pure hydrogen vehicles were all found to be excellent decarbonisation solutions, whereas vehicles that use hydrogen mixed with natural gas or gasoline represent good opportunities to encourage the use of hydrogen in the short term while reducing emissions compared to ordinary vehicles.
Highlights
In recent years, environmental concerns have grown at an ever-increasing rate
Three car options fuelled only by hydrogen were considered: (i) a fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV), (ii) a hydrogen car equipped with an internal combustion engine (H2-ICE), and (iii) a hybrid car fuelled with hydrogen (HEV H2-ICE)
Hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) are partially electrified vehicles, consisting mainly of an internal combustion engine, an electric motor, and a small battery. The benchmarking of their environmental life-cycle performance against a compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicle and its hybrid version (HEV CNG) was pursued. Another objective addresses further comparison with two passenger vehicles fuelled by hydrogen-fossil fuel blends: a hythane vehicle equipped with an internal combustion engine fed with a gaseous mixture of 20% H2 and 80% natural gas (Hythane), and a dual-fuel hydrogen-gasoline vehicle equipped with an internal combustion engine (H2-Gasoline) considering an energy ratio of the mixture equal to that of hythane (i.e., H2 provides 7.3% of the mixture energy)
Summary
Environmental concerns have grown at an ever-increasing rate. In the Paris agreement, 195 countries adopted the first universal and legally binding covenant on the global climate, defining a global action plan to mitigate climate change and trying to keep global warming well below þ2 C compared to the pre-industrial era [1]. The leading cause of these environmental issues lies in the widespread use of fossil fuels for energy purposes. In 2018, world primary energy demand amounted to 14,282 million tonnes of oil equivalent (Mtoe), of which 81% was met by fossil fuels [4]. The transport sector alone accounted for 2890 Mtoe, equal to 20% of the global primary energy demand. To date, this demand is met almost entirely by fossil fuels (96%) and dominated by petroleumderived products (92%). There is a continuous growth in fuel consumption for transport and an increase in the number of vehicles, especially in non-OECD countries [5]
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