Syré, A.M.; Shyposha, P.; Freisem, L.; Pollak, A.; Göhlich, D. Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of Battery and Fuel Cell Electric Cars, Trucks, and Buses. World Electr. Veh. J.2024, 15, 114.
Syré, A.M.; Shyposha, P.; Freisem, L.; Pollak, A.; Göhlich, D. Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of Battery and Fuel Cell Electric Cars, Trucks, and Buses. World Electr. Veh. J. 2024, 15, 114.
Syré, A.M.; Shyposha, P.; Freisem, L.; Pollak, A.; Göhlich, D. Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of Battery and Fuel Cell Electric Cars, Trucks, and Buses. World Electr. Veh. J.2024, 15, 114.
Syré, A.M.; Shyposha, P.; Freisem, L.; Pollak, A.; Göhlich, D. Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of Battery and Fuel Cell Electric Cars, Trucks, and Buses. World Electr. Veh. J. 2024, 15, 114.
Abstract
Addressing the pressing challenge of global warming, reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the transportation sector is a critical imperative. Battery and fuel-cell electric vehicles have emerged as promising solutions for curbing emissions in this sector. In this study, we conducted a comprehensive life cycle assessment (LCA) for typical passenger vehicles, heavy duty trucks and city buses using either proton-exchange membrane fuel cells or Li-ion batteries with different cell chemistries. To ensure accuracy, we supplemented existing studies with data from the literature, particularly for the recycling phase, as database limitations were encountered. Our results highlight that fuel cell and battery systems exhibit large emissions in the production phase. Recycling can significantly offset some of these emissions, but a comparison of the technologies examined revealed considerable differences. Overall, battery electric vehicles consistently outperform fuel cell electric vehicles regarding absolute greenhouse gas emissions. Hence, we recommend prioritizing battery electric over fuel cell vehicles. However, deploying fuel cell electric vehicles could become attractive in a hydrogen economy scenario where other factors, e. g. the conversion and storage of surplus renewable electricity via electrolysis, become important.
Keywords
Life Cycle Assessment; Electric Vehicles; Li-Ion Battery; Fuel Cell; Car; Truck; Bus; Decarbonisation
Subject
Engineering, Other
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
