Impact of powertrain hybridization on the performance and costs of a fuel cell electric vehicle

Abstract

Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) and Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (FCEVs) have gained attention due to the growing concern about air quality in large urban centers. Barriers such as high purchase price and the lack of a supply infrastructure delay the mass adoption of these vehicles. The current work uses the Advanced Vehicle Simulator (ADVISOR) to analyze the influence of the degree of hybridization (DOH) on the performance and total cost of an FCEV (Hyundai Nexo 2019 model). The costs and fuel economy results of the different configurations (different DOH) are compared to those of the original vehicle. The configuration with the highest degree of hybridization (DOH = 61.2%) showed an 8.3% increase in fuel economy and a total cost reduction of 13.2% compared to the original vehicle. In addition, the best vehicle configuration results are compared to a same-segment gasoline-internal combustion engine vehicle and the original Hyundai Nexo in different cost scenarios.