Sustainability Assessment of Fuel Cell Buses in Public Transport

Lozanovski, Aleksandar; Whitehouse, N. D.; Ko, Nathanael; Whitehouse, Simon

doi:10.3390/su10051480

Cited by 30 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…In addition to private cars and freight transport, an application that has seen significant interest has been the development of hydrogen buses. Test cases have been performed in different countries (including Italy, Germany, Sweden, the UK [82,83], Japan and the US [84]), and hydrogen buses are a proven and reliable technology, although their economic sustainability is difficult to achieve with current hydrogen prices [85,86].…”

Section: Transportmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Role of Green and Blue Hydrogen in the Energy Transition—A Technological and Geopolitical Perspective

et al. 2020

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Hydrogen is currently enjoying a renewed and widespread momentum in many national and international climate strategies. This review paper is focused on analysing the challenges and opportunities that are related to green and blue hydrogen, which are at the basis of different perspectives of a potential hydrogen society. While many governments and private companies are putting significant resources on the development of hydrogen technologies, there still remains a high number of unsolved issues, including technical challenges, economic and geopolitical implications. The hydrogen supply chain includes a large number of steps, resulting in additional energy losses, and while much focus is put on hydrogen generation costs, its transport and storage should not be neglected. A low-carbon hydrogen economy offers promising opportunities not only to fight climate change, but also to enhance energy security and develop local industries in many countries. However, to face the huge challenges of a transition towards a zero-carbon energy system, all available technologies should be allowed to contribute based on measurable indicators, which require a strong international consensus based on transparent standards and targets.

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Section: Transportmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Role of Green and Blue Hydrogen in the Energy Transition—A Technological and Geopolitical Perspective

et al. 2020

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“…A typical fuel cell bus takes 40 kgs of hydrogen and can travel 440 km with a full tank [13]. The fuel cell bus was used between the two campuses and made five round trips through the day and the charging of the fuel cell bus took place over the night from 20:00 to 08:00 so that it could be used during the day.…”

Section: Load Profilementioning

confidence: 99%

Technical and Economic Analysis of One-Stop Charging Stations for Battery and Fuel Cell EV with Renewable Energy Sources

et al. 2020

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Currently, most of the vehicles make use of fossil fuels for operations, resulting in one of the largest sources of carbon dioxide emissions. The need to cut our dependency on these fossil fuels has led to an increased use of renewable energy sources (RESs) for mobility purposes. A technical and economic analysis of a one-stop charging station for battery electric vehicles (BEV) and fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEV) is investigated in this paper. The hybrid optimization model for electric renewables (HOMER) software and the heavy-duty refueling station analysis model (HDRSAM) are used to conduct the case study for a one-stop charging station at Technical University of Denmark (DTU)-Risø campus. Using HOMER, a total of 42 charging station scenarios are analyzed by considering two systems (a grid-connected system and an off-grid connected system). For each system three different charging station designs (design A-hydrogen load; design B-an electrical load, and design C-an integrated system consisting of both hydrogen and electrical load) are set up for analysis. Furthermore, seven potential wind turbines with different capacity are selected from HOMER database for each system. Using HDRSAM, a total 18 scenarios are analyzed with variation in hydrogen delivery option, production volume, hydrogen dispensing option and hydrogen dispensing option. The optimal solution from HOMER for a lifespan of twenty-five years is integrated into design C with the grid-connected system whose cost was $986,065. For HDRSAM, the optimal solution design consists of tube trailer as hydrogen delivery with cascade dispensing option at 350 bar together with high production volume and the cost of the system was $452,148. The results from the two simulation tools are integrated and the overall cost of the one-stop charging station is achieved which was $2,833,465. The analysis demonstrated that the one-stop charging station with a grid connection is able to fulfil the charging demand cost-effectively and environmentally friendly for an integrated energy system with RESs in the investigated locations.

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“…Several studies show positive predictions for the introduction of zero-emission buses [3][4][5][6]. One article makes an attempt to simulate the number of zero-emission buses (ZEB) in European Union (EU) member countries in two-time horizons: 2025 and 2030 and to forecast the number of clean vehicles in the precise time horizons [3].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…One article makes an attempt to simulate the number of zero-emission buses (ZEB) in European Union (EU) member countries in two-time horizons: 2025 and 2030 and to forecast the number of clean vehicles in the precise time horizons [3]. One study predicts that the economic sustainability of the buses achieves parity with their fossil fuel equivalent by 2030 when the indirect costs to human health and climate change are included [4]. One other study shows that assuming battery-electric bus adoption beginning in the year-2020, cumulative break-even occurs somewhere between 2030 and 2037 depending on the rate of battery cost decline and diesel-bus purchase prices [5].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparative TCO Analysis of Battery Electric and Hydrogen Fuel Cell Buses for Public Transport System in Small to Midsize Cities

et al. 2021

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This paper shows the results of an in-depth techno-economic analysis of the public transport sector in a small to midsize city and its surrounding area. Public battery-electric and hydrogen fuel cell buses are comparatively evaluated by means of a total cost of ownership (TCO) model building on historical data and a projection of market prices. Additionally, a structural analysis of the public transport system of a specific city is performed, assessing best fitting bus lines for the use of electric or hydrogen busses, which is supported by a brief acceptance evaluation of the local citizens. The TCO results for electric buses show a strong cost decrease until the year 2030, reaching 23.5% lower TCOs compared to the conventional diesel bus. The optimal electric bus charging system will be the opportunity (pantograph) charging infrastructure. However, the opportunity charging method is applicable under the assumption that several buses share the same station and there is a “hotspot” where as many as possible bus lines converge. In the case of electric buses for the year 2020, the parameter which influenced the most on the TCO was the battery cost, opposite to the year 2030 in where the bus body cost and fuel cost parameters are the ones that dominate the TCO, due to the learning rate of the batteries. For H2 buses, finding a hotspot is not crucial because they have a similar range to the diesel ones as well as a similar refueling time. H2 buses until 2030 still have 15.4% higher TCO than the diesel bus system. Considering the benefits of a hypothetical scaling-up effect of hydrogen infrastructures in the region, the hydrogen cost could drop to 5 €/kg. In this case, the overall TCO of the hydrogen solution would drop to a slightly lower TCO than the diesel solution in 2030. Therefore, hydrogen buses can be competitive in small to midsize cities, even with limited routes. For hydrogen buses, the bus body and fuel cost make up a large part of the TCO. Reducing the fuel cost will be an important aspect to reduce the total TCO of the hydrogen bus.

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Sustainability Assessment of Fuel Cell Buses in Public Transport

Cited by 30 publications

References 25 publications

The Role of Green and Blue Hydrogen in the Energy Transition—A Technological and Geopolitical Perspective

The Role of Green and Blue Hydrogen in the Energy Transition—A Technological and Geopolitical Perspective

Technical and Economic Analysis of One-Stop Charging Stations for Battery and Fuel Cell EV with Renewable Energy Sources

Comparative TCO Analysis of Battery Electric and Hydrogen Fuel Cell Buses for Public Transport System in Small to Midsize Cities

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