Research in Progress
Green Mobility in Texas: Comparative Environmental Impacts and Lifecycle Cost Analysis of Hybrid, Electric and Hydrogen Fuel Cell Cars, Transportation Consortium of South-Central States, start date: April 2022, expected completion date: unknown.
Life cycle assessment and life cycle cost analysis will be used to evaluate the environmental impacts and cost of hydrogen fuel cell cars and battery electric cars.
Completed Research
National Resources
Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles, Alternative Fuels Data Center, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, U.S. Department of Energy.
A summary of these vehicles includes a discussion of emissions and laws and incentives to build this market.
Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, October 2021.
This section of the Green Vehicle Guide includes a general overview of topics related to hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, including availability, emissions, and fueling and driving range, with access to additional resources.
Fuels and Vehicle Technology, U.S. Department of Transportation.
This webpage summarizes alternative fuel strategies and resources.
State Resources
Colorado
Opportunities for Low-Carbon Hydrogen in Colorado: A Roadmap, Colorado Energy Office, October 2021.
Opportunities, barriers and recommended actions are discussed to implement low-carbon hydrogen technologies in the state.
New Jersey
Alternative Fuel Vehicle Readiness: A Guide for Municipalities, New Jersey Transportation Planning Authority, December 2017.
Best practices and policies help municipalities implement alternative fuel vehicle infrastructure.
New York
Alternative Fuels and Advanced Vehicle Technologies, New York State Energy Research and Development Authority.
Fuel cell technology information and resources for New York are included at this website.
Related Resources
Assessment of Biofuels Policy: Effectiveness of Emissions Reductions, Fuels Institute, June 2022.
In this white paper, researchers examine the carbon benefits to using biofuels, including hydrogen. Researchers also assess policies that affect biofuels, product availability, and the ability of vehicles and infrastructure to support a market expansion.
Research in Progress
Integrated Fuel Cell Electric Powertrain Demonstration, Clean Cities Coalition Network, start date: October 2020, expected completion date: unknown.
Researchers will design, build, test and demonstrate a fuel cell electric powertrain for heavy-duty trucks and buses that can help reduce costs and advance the commercialization of hydrogen vehicles.
Completed Research and Guidance
National Resources
Study of Hydrogen Fuel Cell Technology for Rail Propulsion and Review of Relevant Industry Standards, Federal Railroad Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation, June 2021.
A framework is described that combines economic, environmental, safety, performance and public acceptability factors to evaluate the compatibility of electrified track, battery electric and hydrogen fuel cell technologies with various rail applications such as long-haul freight, regional passenger rail and yard operations.
Fuel Cell Electric Bus Evaluations, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy.
The development and performance of fuel cell buses are compared to conventional vehicles.
Fuel Cell Buses in U.S. Transit Fleets: Current Status 2016, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy, 2016.
This report summarizes fuel cell electric bus development and the ongoing challenges of fuel cell technologies in transit.
State Resources
Hawaii
NELHA and MTA Hydrogen Stations and Fuel Cell Electric Buses, Hawai’i Natural Energy Institute, November 2021.
This project evaluated the technical and financial performance and durability of a 65 kilogram/day hydrogen production and dispensing station at the Natural Energy Laboratory Hawaiʻi Authority (NELHA) and its ability to support three hydrogen fuel cell electric buses operated by the County of Hawaiʻi Mass Transit Agency (MTA).
North Carolina
“Feasibility of Hydrogen Fuel Cell Technology for Railway Intercity Services: A Case Study for the Piedmont in North Carolina,” Orwell Madovi, Andreas Hoffrichter, Nick Little, Shanelle Foster and Raphael Isaac, Railway Engineering Science, Volume 29, October 2021.
An Integrated Hybrid Train Simulator for intercity railway is used to evaluate the feasibility of various train and powertrain configurations. A case study of the Piedmont intercity service in North Carolina features six train configurations and powertrain options, and nine hydrogen supply options in addition to diesel. The results from the hydrail option suggest that a low- or zero-carbon hydrogen supply chain could be possible.
Research in Progress
Integrated Fuel Cell Electric Powertrain Demonstration, Clean Cities Coalition Network, start date: October 2020; expected completion date: unknown.
In this project, researchers will design, build, test and demonstrate a fuel cell electric powertrain for heavy-duty trucks and buses that can help reduce costs and advance the commercialization of hydrogen vehicles.
Analyzing the Prospects of Hydrogen as a Clean Energy Carrier for the Transportation Sector, National Center for Sustainable Transportation, start date: October 2020; completion date: unknown.
An analysis of the life cycle costs of fuel cell trucks will be based on battery-operated and conventional diesel trucks. Other research areas will include a techno-commercial evaluation of low carbon scenarios in California, estimates of the number of hydrogen production and refueling facilities that will need to be built in California for such scenarios, supply chain pathways for hydrogen in the transportation sector, a policy comparison of hydrogen-based economies and a spatial optimization study to identify locations for installing hydrogen refueling infrastructure.
Completed Research and Resources
National Resources
“Fast Flow Future for Heavy-Duty Hydrogen Trucks,” News Release, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy, June 8, 2022.
The Innovating High Throughput Hydrogen Stations Project demonstrates high-flow rate hydrogen fueling capabilities for heavy-duty vehicles.
“Designing Hydrogen Fuel Cell Electric Trucks in a Diverse Medium and Heavy Duty Market,” James Kast, Geoffrey Morrison, John Gangloff Jr., Ram Vijayagopal and Jason Marcinkoski, Research in Transportation Economics, Volume 70, October 2018.
Researchers examine medium- and heavy-duty vehicles to determine whether they can accommodate hydrogen fuel cells. The results suggest that most of these vehicles have sufficient space for hydrogen storage tanks to accommodate 90% of their daily range of operation, but identifying a standard size, design and placement of these components may be challenging.
State Resources
California
Technology, Sustainability and Marketing of Battery Electric and Hydrogen Fuel Cell Medium-Duty and Heavy-Duty Trucks and Buses in 2020-2040, California Department of Transportation, March 2020.
The status of battery-electric and fuel cell technologies in the medium-duty and heavy-duty vehicle markets was assessed, and suitable markets were identified based on technical, economic and operational factors.
► Electric Technologies for Medium Duty/Heavy Duty (MD/HD) Trucks and Buses, California Department of Transportation, April 2020.
This two-page brief summarizes the research report findings.
Airports
ACRP Research Report 236: Preparing Your Airport for Electric Aircraft and Hydrogen Technologies, Airport Cooperative Research Program, 2022.
Guidance is presented for estimating the impacts of electric aircraft and hydrogen technologies in this report. Three appendices provide useful resources for airport planning:
Ferries
Optimization of Zero Emission Hydrogen Fuel Cell Ferry Design, with Comparisons to the SF-BREEZE, Sandia National Laboratories, January 2018.
Five commercially relevant passenger vessels are examined to determine their cost-effectiveness for using hydrogen fuel cell technology. Maritime emission profiles of each are presented.