Techno-economic and behavioural analysis of battery electric, hydrogen fuel cell and hybrid vehicles in a future sustainable road transport system in the UK

G. J. Offer*, M. Contestabile, D. A. Howey, R. Clague, N. P. Brandon

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

92 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This paper conducts a techno-economic study on hydrogen Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (FCV), Battery Electric Vehicles (BEV) and hydrogen Fuel Cell plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (FCHEV) in the UK using cost predictions for 2030. The study includes an analysis of data on distance currently travelled by private car users daily in the UK. Results show that there may be diminishing economic returns for Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEV) with battery sizes above 20 kWh, and the optimum size for a PHEV battery is between 5 and 15 kWh. Differences in behaviour as a function of vehicle size are demonstrated, which decreases the percentage of miles that can be economically driven using electricity for a larger vehicle. Decreasing carbon dioxide emissions from electricity generation by 80% favours larger optimum battery sizes as long as carbon is priced, and will reduce emissions considerably. However, the model does not take into account reductions in carbon dioxide emissions from hydrogen generation, assuming hydrogen will still be produced from steam reforming methane in 2030.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1939-1950
Number of pages12
JournalEnergy Policy
Volume39
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Apr 2011
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Electric vehicle
  • Fuel cell vehicle
  • Hybrid vehicle

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