A Global Assessment of Hydrogen for Future Automotive Transportation: Projected Energy Requirements and CO₂Emissions

Abstract

The proposed transition to hydrogen is aimed at resolving global issues, such as petroleum scarcity and CO 2 emissions, so it is sensible to look at this transition at a global level. In this paper, we present a model, named the World Hydrogen Transition Model (WHTM), that seeks to achieve two goals: 1) a projection of requirements for worldwide automobile travel measured in vehicle-kilometers traveled through the end of the 21st century, and 2) a prediction of hydrogen and underlying energy resource requirements based on different scenarios for improvement in vehicle efficiency, introduction of fuel cell vehicles, and introduction of hydrogen produced from non-fossil resources. The model includes industrializing and less developed as well as industrialized countries. Results from the model suggest that, for a range of likely scenarios, energy consumption for automobile travel will be as great or greater than current levels. However, if the transition to hydrogen fuel cell vehicles can be carried out successfully in the middle of the century, and is then followed by a transition to hydrogen from non-fossil resources, total petroleum consumption and CO 2 emissions from the automobile sector could be greatly reduced compared to current levels, thereby making motorized personal transportation more sustainable. Applicability to other emerging zero-carbon vehicle options, such as plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), is also discussed.

Effect of Driving Behavior and Vehicle Characteristics on Energy Consumption of Road Vehicles Running on Alternative Energy Sources

“…This might have an influence on the overall energy consumption, because the variance in energy consumption is potentially greater during a longer refill period. The specific research results from this project show that the hydrogen and methane vehicles provided the lowest energy consumption, when controlling for other factors and keeping them fixed, lending support to other recent work proposing increased use of hydrogen for transportation (Ingvarsson, Pestiaux, and Vanek 2011).…”

Concept of the Mechanically Powered Gyrobus

“…But despite long and concentrated research on electrochemical sources, the relationship between their price and lifetime is still almost unacceptable for use as a vehicle drive. They also have other undesirable attributes: in the case of fuel cells, used now in many experimental vehicles, in particular electrobuses, the main problems concern the distribution and refuelling of expensive hydrogen, whether in compressed or liquefied form (Ingvarsson et al, 2011). Problematic attributes of electrochemical accumulators are as follows: relatively slow charging (particularly towards the end), insufficient reliability, energy capacity reduction during their lifetime, power and exploitable energy capacity linked to temperature and the destructive influence of a deep discharging on the battery lifetime.…”