Comparison of gasoline and hydrogen pathways in order to reduce the environmental hazards of a solar-hydrogen refueling station: Evaluation based on life cycle cost and Well-To-Wheel models

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Today, due to increasing concerns about the use of fossil fuels, renewables have been introduced as a popular, efficient and green alternative. Since the transportation sector is one of the most important energy consumers, attention has been directed to the management of this energy consuming sector. It was proven that the development of electric-hydrogen vehicles can significantly reduce environmental concerns and dependence on fossil fuels in the transportation sector. However, improving the infrastructure of hydrogen refueling stations (HRSs) due to the high cost of hydrogen requires more and detailed works. In this article, the conceptual design and economic evaluation of an on-site HRS based on a photovoltaic (PV)-based solar unit coupled with the power grid has been developed and evaluated under various parameters and scenarios. The planned HRS is also comprised of a water electrolysis process (employing a polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) electrolyzer unit), and hydrogen storage and dispenser. In the developed economic assessment, the levelized cost of hydrogen (LCOH) is calculated and discussed for different scenarios and plans based on the different size of the HRS and energy management approaches. The development of such refueling stations in cities can be an effective direction to achieve sustainable development. In addition, in order to increase believability, globalization and improve economic sustainability, an economic incentive approach based on Well-To-Wheel assessment (WTWA) and life cycle cost assessment (LCCA) was developed. The developed incentive strategy can lead to a decrease in the value of LCOH. A comprehensive comparison between hydrogen and gasoline refueling pathways is also provided. The outcomes indicated that, by applying the proposed economic incentives, the values of LCOH can be reduced by almost 15.5% and 2.98%, respectively, for discounted payback period s of 8 and 10 years. It was also found that, the WTWA index for the gasoline pathway is almost 33.8% higher compared to the hydrogen pathway. In addition, when the participation percentage of the PV-based solar unit is assumed to be 50% and 75%, the value of the WTWA index of the hydrogen pathway is reduced by approximately 25.3% and 62.8% compared to the gasoline pathway.