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The economic feasibility of green hydrogen and fuel cell electric vehicles for road transport in China

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  • Li, Yanfei
  • Taghizadeh-Hesary, Farhad

Abstract

In September 2020, the Chinese central government announced a new policy to develop hydrogen energy and fuel cell applications. It emphasized fuel cell commercial vehicles rather than passenger vehicles. Such an emphasis is drastically different from the hydrogen and fuel cell strategies of other leading economies. This study aims at providing insights into the justification behind it. It develops quantitative models to conduct economic assessments of the feasibility of hydrogen energy produced from renewable energy and subsequently applied in the road transport sector in China. A well-to-wheel model is developed to estimate the carbon emissions of the hydrogen supply chain as well as that of the fuel cell electric vehicles. In the meantime, a levelised cost of hydrogen model is adopted to analyze the cost of hydrogen as storage for renewable energy. These are followed by a total cost of ownership model applied to assess the cost of owning and driving fuel cell electric vehicle, fueled by the hydrogen produced from renewables, compared to alternative vehicle powertrains, especially those fossil fuel-based. On such a basis, the relation between energy policies and the competitiveness of hydrogen produced from renewable energy and the fuel cell electric vehicle is discussed.

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  • Li, Yanfei & Taghizadeh-Hesary, Farhad, 2022. "The economic feasibility of green hydrogen and fuel cell electric vehicles for road transport in China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 160(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:160:y:2022:i:c:s0301421521005681
    DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2021.112703
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    6. Qusay Hassan & Itimad D. J. Azzawi & Aws Zuhair Sameen & Hayder M. Salman, 2023. "Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles: Opportunities and Challenges," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(15), pages 1-26, July.
    7. Minfeng Wu & Wen Chen, 2022. "Forecast of Electric Vehicle Sales in the World and China Based on PCA-GRNN," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-14, February.
    8. Kabir A. Mamun & F. R. Islam & R. Haque & Aneesh A. Chand & Kushal A. Prasad & Krishneel K. Goundar & Krishneel Prakash & Sidharth Maharaj, 2022. "Systematic Modeling and Analysis of On-Board Vehicle Integrated Novel Hybrid Renewable Energy System with Storage for Electric Vehicles," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-33, February.
    9. Bishal Bharadwaj & Franzisca Weder & Peta Ashworth, 2023. "More support for hydrogen export than its domestic application in Australia," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-8, December.
    10. Valerio Martini & Francesco Mocera & Aurelio Somà, 2022. "Numerical Investigation of a Fuel Cell-Powered Agricultural Tractor," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(23), pages 1-19, November.
    11. Jovan, David Jure & Dolanc, Gregor & Pregelj, Boštjan, 2022. "Utilization of excess water accumulation for green hydrogen production in a run-of-river hydropower plant," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 195(C), pages 780-794.
    12. Ruifeng Shi & Xiaoxi Chen & Jiajun Qin & Ping Wu & Limin Jia, 2022. "The State-of-the-Art Progress on the Forms and Modes of Hydrogen and Ammonia Energy Utilization in Road Transportation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-25, September.
    13. Zhaowen Liang & Kai Liu & Jinjin Huang & Enfei Zhou & Chao Wang & Hui Wang & Qiong Huang & Zhenpo Wang, 2022. "Powertrain Design and Energy Management Strategy Optimization for a Fuel Cell Electric Intercity Coach in an Extremely Cold Mountain Area," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(18), pages 1-16, September.
    14. Zhu, Min & Dong, Peiwu & Ju, Yanbing & Li, Jiajun & Ran, Lun, 2023. "Effects of government subsidies on heavy-duty hydrogen fuel cell truck penetration: A scenario-based system dynamics model," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 183(C).
    15. Sadik-Zada, Elkhan Richard & Santibanez Gonzalez, Ernesto DR & Gatto, Andrea & Althaus, Tomasz & Quliyev, Fuad, 2023. "Pathways to the hydrogen mobility futures in German public transportation: A scenario analysis," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 205(C), pages 384-392.
    16. Mansouri, Seyed Amir & Nematbakhsh, Emad & Jordehi, Ahmad Rezaee & Marzband, Mousa & Tostado-Véliz, Marcos & Jurado, Francisco, 2023. "An interval-based nested optimization framework for deriving flexibility from smart buildings and electric vehicle fleets in the TSO-DSO coordination," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 341(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Hydrogen; Renewable energy; Road transport; China;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q21 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Renewable Resources and Conservation - - - Demand and Supply; Prices
    • Q42 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - Alternative Energy Sources
    • Q48 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - Government Policy
    • R48 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Transportation Economics - - - Government Pricing and Policy

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