Life cycle assessment of fuel cell systems for light duty vehicles, current state-of-the-art and future impacts

Electric vehicles are a key technology for achieving a significant reduction of greenhouse gas directly emitted by the fleet of light duty vehicles. In the past, the production impacts of alternative vehicle technologies have been widely assessed within the life cycle assessment framework, with large uncertainties regarding fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs). FCEVs allow an almost double driving range with a single charge or refill of the tank and more than ten times the fueling/charging rate compared to batteries. However, FCEVs currently suffer from two major issues, lack of widespread fueling infrastructure coverage and high production costs, compared to the well-established Li-ion batteries. Furthermore, the data used for life cycle assessments of the technology should be constantly updated, as their technological development is rapidly moving forward. In this regard, an early detection of the likely environmental impacts from this fast development is fundamental to guide the progress of the technology.