Comparative study of emissions and energy consumption of battery electric and hydrogen fuel cell electric HDVs for production and use phases

The depletion of fossil fuels and the emergence of global warming propel public sectors to explore alternative energy such as renewable electricity and hydrogen to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Numerous studies have demonstrated substantial environmental benefits of electric light-duty vehicles. However, research focusing on heavy-duty vehicles is still relatively scarce, and the transition to zero-emission heavy-duty trucking is facing enormous technical and economic challenges. The present work focuses on decarbonised heavy-duty vehicles (HDVs), including battery electric (BE) and gaseous hydrogen fuel cell electric (FCE) trucks, to identify contributions and implications of the eco-friendly trucks for achieving the net zero emissions target. To this end, the study uses the SimaPro software package with wildly accepted Ecoinvent database to investigate environmental implications during the vehicle manufacturing and assembly stage based on UK grid mix. A comparative analysis of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions during the production phase of 700 bar and 350 bar H2 fuel cell vehicles and their battery electric counterparts is conducted. The vehicles simulated are the 19.5 ton rigid truck and the 41 ton articulated truck. The results indicate that the manufacture of the 19.5-ton battery electric truck (BET) accounts for the highest unit emissions (per ton of vehicle weight) at 6166.29 kg CO2_eq/t, while the 700-bar H2 fuel cell electric truck (41 ton) is at 4555.47 kg CO2_eq/t, followed by the 350-bar H2 fuel cell truck at 4287.77 kg CO2_eq/t. In addition, real-world driving cycle-based energy consumptions during the vehicle use phase are evaluated using AVL Cruise M. Results are generated from average EU truck real-world driving cycles and applied to a tailored UK-based trip with a distance of 174 km (from a seaport to the vehicle assembly factory). The journey is comprised of 10% urban, 88% highway, and 2% rural routes.