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In moving towards a more sustainable society, hydrogen fueled polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cell technology is seen as a great opportunity to reduce the environmental impact of the transport sector.However, decision makers have the challenge of understanding the real environmental consequences of producing fuel cell vehicles (FCVs) compared to alternative green cars, such as battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and more conventional internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs). In this work, we presented a comprehensive life cycle assessment (LCA) of a FCV focused on its manufacturing phase and compared with the production of a BEV and an ICEV. For the manufacturing phase, the FCV inventories started from the catalyst layer to the glider, including the hydrogen tank. A sensitivity analysis on some of the key components of the fuel cell stack and the FC system (such as balance-of-plant and hydrogen tank) was carried out to account for different assumptions on materials and inventory models. The production process of the fuel cell vehicle showed a higher environmental impact compared to the production of the other two vehicles power sources. This is mainly due to the hydrogen tank and the fuel cell stack. However, by combining the results of the sensitivity analysis for each component -a best-case scenario showed that there is the potential for a 25% reduction in the climate change impact category for the FCV compared to a baseline FCV scenario. Reducing the environmental impact associated with the manufacture of fuel cell vehicles represents an important challenge. The entire life cycle has also been considered and the manufacturing, use and disposal of FCV, electric vehicle and conventional diesel vehicle were compared. Overall, the ICEV showed the highest GWP and this was mainly due to the use phase and the fossil carbon emissions associated to the use of diesel.

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Electric mobility is playing an important and growing role in the context of sustainable transport sector development. This study presents the life cycle assessment of an electric car based on the technology of Lithium-ion battery (BEV) for Europe and compares it to an internal combustion engine vehicle (ICEV). According to a cradle-to-grave approach, manufacturing, use and disposal phases of both vehicles have been included in the assessment in order to identify the hot spots of the entire life cycles. For electric vehicles two manufacturing inventories have been analysed and different vehicle disposal pathways have also been considered. Furthermore, the environmental performances of hybrid vehicles have been analysed based on the life cycle models of the BEV and ICEV. The results of the hot spot analysis showed that the BEV manufacturing phase determined the highest environmental burdens mainly in the toxicity categories as a result of the use of metals in the battery pack. However, the greenhouse gas emissions associated with the BEV use phase were shown to be half than those recorded for the ICEV use phase. The trend of the results has also been investigated for future energy mixes: the electricity and diesel mixes for the year 2050 have been considered for the modelling of the use phase of BEV and ICEV