The effect of driving cycles and H2 production pathways on the lifecycle analysis of hydrogen fuel cell vehicle: A case study in South Korea

This study focuses on the simulation and analysis on the fuel economy of a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle, data collection and modeling to estimate greenhouse gas emission during its lifecycle. Since regenerative braking is a velocity related process, a car which is equipped with it can be significantly affected by the driving cycle. Therefore, the influence of five driving patterns on the fuel economy of a FCEV is investigated. Further prediction of life cycle emission is carried out by several hydrogen production pathways. The results indicate that the mileage of this FCEV for 1 complete charging can be extended by as much as 7% in fast shift driving mode with energy recovery of 30% during braking. The results also prove that hydrogen produced by natural gas in an on-site manner can reduce the lifecycle emission by more than 50%, comparing to that by Naphtha.