Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles as a Sustainable Transportation Alternative: Environmental Impacts Assessment

Due to the increasing demand on transportation around the world, transportation sector has become one of the main contributors to major environmental issues related to energy depletion and Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions. Thus, more efforts and resources have been invested during the last 10 years in order to develop more sustainable vehicle technologies such as hydrogen Fuel Cells Vehicles (FCEVs). In this study, a prediction model for number of vehicles has been developed and the expected short-term and long-term environmental impacts of FCEVs in Westbank, Palestine, have been determined compared to other vehicle technologies, such as Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) and Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEVs), based on current and future factors, such as number of vehicles, average fuel and power consumption, average annual traveled kilometers, and electricity and fuel sources. Current and future vehicles’ emissions factors (gm of CO2-eq/km) have been determined for Palestine. Next, the GHG emissions considering Internal Combustion Engine Vehicles (ICEVs), HEVs, BEVs, and FCEVs have been determined. The results of the study have concluded that FCEVs can be considered the most sustainable alternative, and it could lead to reductions in GHG emissions up to 38.92% and 26.67% compared to HEVs and BEVs, respectively, in 2025. Whereas, the environmental benefits of FCEVs are getting more predominant over time, and the expected reduction in GHG emissions is getting greater (91.24%) in 2050, due to the expected improvement in hydrogen production by using more environmentally friendly methods.