IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jeners/v13y2020i22p6132-d449464.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Hydrogen Fuel Cell Road Vehicles and Their Infrastructure: An Option towards an Environmentally Friendly Energy Transition

Author

Listed:
  • Olivier Bethoux

    (Laboratoire de Génie Electrique et Electronique de Paris, CNRS, Group Sorbonne Université, 75252 Paris, France
    Laboratoire de Génie Electrique et Electronique de Paris, CNRS, CentraleSupélec, Université Paris-Saclay, 91192 Gif-sur-Yvette, France)

Abstract

The latest pre-production vehicles on the market show that the major technical challenges posed by integrating a fuel cell system (FCS) within a vehicle—compactness, safety, autonomy, reliability, cold starting—have been met. Regarding the ongoing maturity of fuel cell systems dedicated to road transport, the present article examines the advances still needed to move from a functional but niche product to a mainstream consumer product. It seeks to address difficulties not covered by more traditional innovation approaches. At least in long-distance heavy-duty vehicles, fuel cell vehicles (FCVs) are going to play a key role in the path to zero-emissions in one or two decades. Hence the present study also addresses the structuring elements of the complete chain: the latter includes the production, storage and distribution of hydrogen. Green hydrogen appears to be one of the potential uses of renewable energies. The greener the electricity is, the greater the advantage for hydrogen since it permits to economically store large energy quantities on seasonal rhythms. Moreover, natural hydrogen might also become an economic reality pushing the fuel cell vehicle to be a competitive and environmentally friendly alternative to the battery electric vehicle. Based on its own functional benefits for on board systems, hydrogen in combination with the fuel cell will achieve a large-scale use of hydrogen in road transport, as soon as renewable energies become more widespread. Its market will expand from large driving range and heavy load vehicles.

Suggested Citation

  • Olivier Bethoux, 2020. "Hydrogen Fuel Cell Road Vehicles and Their Infrastructure: An Option towards an Environmentally Friendly Energy Transition," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(22), pages 1-27, November.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:13:y:2020:i:22:p:6132-:d:449464
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/13/22/6132/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/13/22/6132/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Baeyens, Jan & Zhang, Huili & Nie, Jiapei & Appels, Lise & Dewil, Raf & Ansart, Renaud & Deng, Yimin, 2020. "Reviewing the potential of bio-hydrogen production by fermentation," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 131(C).
    2. Wang, Shaojie & Ma, Zhihong & Su, Haijia, 2018. "Two-step continuous hydrogen production by immobilized mixed culture on corn stalk," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 121(C), pages 230-235.
    3. Geerten Van de Kaa & Daniel Scholten & Jafar Rezaei & Christine Milchram, 2017. "The Battle between Battery and Fuel Cell Powered Electric Vehicles: A BWM Approach," Energies, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-13, October.
    4. Bartosz Ceran, 2020. "Multi-Criteria Comparative Analysis of Clean Hydrogen Production Scenarios," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-21, August.
    5. Saumya Bansal & Yi Zong & Shi You & Lucian Mihet-Popa & Jinsheng Xiao, 2020. "Technical and Economic Analysis of One-Stop Charging Stations for Battery and Fuel Cell EV with Renewable Energy Sources," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-15, June.
    6. Van de Velden, Manon & Baeyens, Jan & Brems, Anke & Janssens, Bart & Dewil, Raf, 2010. "Fundamentals, kinetics and endothermicity of the biomass pyrolysis reaction," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 35(1), pages 232-242.
    7. Soyeong Park & Solji Nam & Myoungjin Oh & Ie-jung Choi & Jungwoo Shin, 2020. "Preference Structure on the Design of Hydrogen Refueling Stations to Activate Energy Transition," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(15), pages 1-13, August.
    8. Mohammad Ostadi & Kristofer Gunnar Paso & Sandra Rodriguez-Fabia & Lars Erik Øi & Flavio Manenti & Magne Hillestad, 2020. "Process Integration of Green Hydrogen: Decarbonization of Chemical Industries," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(18), pages 1-16, September.
    9. Lee, Dong-Yeon & Elgowainy, Amgad & Dai, Qiang, 2018. "Life cycle greenhouse gas emissions of hydrogen fuel production from chlor-alkali processes in the United States," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 217(C), pages 467-479.
    10. Burin Yodwong & Damien Guilbert & Matheepot Phattanasak & Wattana Kaewmanee & Melika Hinaje & Gianpaolo Vitale, 2020. "Faraday’s Efficiency Modeling of a Proton Exchange Membrane Electrolyzer Based on Experimental Data," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(18), pages 1-14, September.
    11. Yang, Zijun & Wang, Bowen & Jiao, Kui, 2020. "Life cycle assessment of fuel cell, electric and internal combustion engine vehicles under different fuel scenarios and driving mileages in China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 198(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Eleonora Riva Sanseverino & Le Quyen Luu, 2022. "Critical Raw Materials and Supply Chain Disruption in the Energy Transition," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(16), pages 1-5, August.
    2. Halder, Pobitra & Babaie, Meisam & Salek, Farhad & Shah, Kalpit & Stevanovic, Svetlana & Bodisco, Timothy A. & Zare, Ali, 2024. "Performance, emissions and economic analyses of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 199(C).
    3. José A. Ventura, 2023. "Climate Benefits Advocated by the Development of Sustainable Vehicles and Charging Infrastructures in the Transport Sector," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(9), pages 1-5, April.
    4. Gustavo Pinto & Joaquim Monteiro & Andresa Baptista & Leonardo Ribeiro & José Leite, 2021. "Study of the Permeation Flowrate of an Innovative Way to Store Hydrogen in Vehicles," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-16, October.
    5. Lucian-Ioan Dulău, 2023. "CO 2 Emissions of Battery Electric Vehicles and Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles," Clean Technol., MDPI, vol. 5(2), pages 1-17, June.
    6. Juhui Gim & Minsu Kim & Changsun Ahn, 2022. "Energy Management Control Strategy for Saving Trip Costs of Fuel Cell/Battery Electric Vehicles," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-15, March.
    7. Shantanu Pardhi & Sajib Chakraborty & Dai-Duong Tran & Mohamed El Baghdadi & Steven Wilkins & Omar Hegazy, 2022. "A Review of Fuel Cell Powertrains for Long-Haul Heavy-Duty Vehicles: Technology, Hydrogen, Energy and Thermal Management Solutions," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(24), pages 1-55, December.
    8. Jianmei Feng & Jiquan Han & Zihui Pang & Xueyuan Peng, 2023. "Designing Hydrogen Recirculation Ejectors for Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell Systems," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(3), pages 1-10, January.
    9. Sam Simons & Ulugbek Azimov, 2021. "Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of Propulsion Systems for Heavy-Duty Transport Applications," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-18, May.
    10. Emigdio Chavez-Angel & Alejandro Castro-Alvarez & Nicolas Sapunar & Francisco Henríquez & Javier Saavedra & Sebastián Rodríguez & Iván Cornejo & Lindley Maxwell, 2023. "Exploring the Potential of Green Hydrogen Production and Application in the Antofagasta Region of Chile," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(11), pages 1-12, June.
    11. Gregory Trencher & Achmed Edianto, 2021. "Drivers and Barriers to the Adoption of Fuel Cell Passenger Vehicles and Buses in Germany," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-26, February.
    12. Nektarios Koutsourakis & Ilias C. Tolias & Stella G. Giannissi & Alexandros G. Venetsanos, 2023. "Numerical Investigation of Hydrogen Jet Dispersion Below and Around a Car in a Tunnel," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(18), pages 1-30, September.
    13. Evgeny Solomin & Shanmuga Priya Selvanathan & Sudhakar Kumarasamy & Anton Kovalyov & Ramyashree Maddappa Srinivasa, 2021. "The Comparison of Solar-Powered Hydrogen Closed-Cycle System Capacities for Selected Locations," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-18, May.
    14. Yuanliang Liu & Yinan Qiu & Zhan Liu & Gang Lei, 2022. "Modeling and Analysis of the Flow Characteristics of Liquid Hydrogen in a Pipe Suffering from External Transient Impact," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-12, June.
    15. Domagoj Talapko & Jasminka Talapko & Ivan Erić & Ivana Škrlec, 2023. "Biological Hydrogen Production from Biowaste Using Dark Fermentation, Storage and Transportation," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(8), pages 1-16, April.
    16. Zhu, Min & Dong, Peiwu & Ju, Yanbing & Li, Jiajun & Ran, Lun, 2023. "Effects of government subsidies on heavy-duty hydrogen fuel cell truck penetration: A scenario-based system dynamics model," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 183(C).
    17. Tetiana Bilan & Mykola Kaplin & Vitaliy Makarov & Mykola Perov & Ihor Novitskii & Artur Zaporozhets & Valerii Havrysh & Vitalii Nitsenko, 2022. "The Balance and Optimization Model of Coal Supply in the Flow Representation of Domestic Production and Imports: The Ukrainian Case Study," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(21), pages 1-19, October.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Lu, Qiang & Zhang, Bo & Yang, Shichun & Peng, Zhaoxia, 2022. "Life cycle assessment on energy efficiency of hydrogen fuel cell vehicle in China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 257(C).
    2. Olivier Bethoux, 2020. "Hydrogen Fuel Cell Road Vehicles: State of the Art and Perspectives," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-28, November.
    3. Lukáš Dvořáček & Martin Horák & Jaroslav Knápek, 2022. "Simulation of Electric Vehicle Charging Points Based on Efficient Use of Chargers and Using Recuperated Braking Energy from Trains," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(2), pages 1-28, January.
    4. Desreveaux, A. & Bouscayrol, A. & Trigui, R. & Hittinger, E. & Castex, E. & Sirbu, G.M., 2023. "Accurate energy consumption for comparison of climate change impact of thermal and electric vehicles," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 268(C).
    5. Primaz, Carmem T. & Ribes-Greus, Amparo & Jacques, Rosângela A., 2021. "Valorization of cotton residues for production of bio-oil and engineered biochar," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 235(C).
    6. Hong, Sanghyun & Kim, Eunsung & Jeong, Saerok, 2023. "Evaluating the sustainability of the hydrogen economy using multi-criteria decision-making analysis in Korea," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 204(C), pages 485-492.
    7. Liu, Yajie & Dong, Feng & Wang, Yulong & Li, Jingyun & Qin, Chang, 2023. "Assessment of the energy-saving and environment effects of China's gasoline vehicle withdrawal under the impact of geopolitical risks," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 86(PB).
    8. Ábrego, J. & Atienza-Martínez, M. & Plou, F. & Arauzo, J., 2019. "Heat requirement for fixed bed pyrolysis of beechwood chips," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 178(C), pages 145-157.
    9. López-González, D. & Puig-Gamero, M. & Acién, F.G. & García-Cuadra, F. & Valverde, J.L. & Sanchez-Silva, L., 2015. "Energetic, economic and environmental assessment of the pyrolysis and combustion of microalgae and their oils," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 1752-1770.
    10. Indre Siksnelyte-Butkiene & Dalia Streimikiene, 2022. "Sustainable Development of Road Transport in the EU: Multi-Criteria Analysis of Countries’ Achievements," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(21), pages 1-25, November.
    11. Tang, Qingsong & Yang, Yang & Luo, Chang & Yang, Zhong & Fu, Chunyun, 2022. "A novel electro-hydraulic compound braking system coordinated control strategy for a four-wheel-drive pure electric vehicle driven by dual motors," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 241(C).
    12. Yadav, Deepak & Banerjee, Rangan, 2020. "Net energy and carbon footprint analysis of solar hydrogen production from the high-temperature electrolysis process," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 262(C).
    13. Park, Joungho & Kang, Sungho & Kim, Sunwoo & Kim, Hana & Kim, Sang-Kyung & Lee, Jay H., 2024. "Optimizing green hydrogen systems: Balancing economic viability and reliability in the face of supply-demand volatility," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 368(C).
    14. Liang, Yanan & Kleijn, René & Tukker, Arnold & van der Voet, Ester, 2022. "Material requirements for low-carbon energy technologies: A quantitative review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).
    15. M. N. Uddin & Kuaanan Techato & Juntakan Taweekun & Md Mofijur Rahman & M. G. Rasul & T. M. I. Mahlia & S. M. Ashrafur, 2018. "An Overview of Recent Developments in Biomass Pyrolysis Technologies," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(11), pages 1-24, November.
    16. Andrew N. Amenaghawon & Chinedu L. Anyalewechi & Charity O. Okieimen & Heri Septya Kusuma, 2021. "Biomass pyrolysis technologies for value-added products: a state-of-the-art review," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 23(10), pages 14324-14378, October.
    17. Byun, Manhee & Kim, Heehyang & Lee, Hyunjun & Lim, Dongjun & Lim, Hankwon, 2022. "Conceptual design for methanol steam reforming in serial packed-bed reactors and membrane filters: Economic and environmental perspectives," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 241(C).
    18. Kartal, Furkan & Dalbudak, Yağmur & Özveren, Uğur, 2023. "Prediction of thermal degradation of biopolymers in biomass under pyrolysis atmosphere by means of machine learning," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 204(C), pages 774-787.
    19. Alessandra Perna & Mariagiovanna Minutillo & Simona Di Micco & Elio Jannelli, 2022. "Design and Costs Analysis of Hydrogen Refuelling Stations Based on Different Hydrogen Sources and Plant Configurations," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(2), pages 1-22, January.
    20. Haas, Christian & Kempa, Karol & Moslener, Ulf, 2023. "Dealing with deep uncertainty in the energy transition: What we can learn from the electricity and transportation sectors," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 179(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:13:y:2020:i:22:p:6132-:d:449464. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.