Driving toward hydrogen mobility: A life cycle cost analysis of conventional, electric, and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles in Qatar

Qatar’s transport sector is dominated by the use of personal vehicles, increasing the nation’s environmental footprint. To mitigate this, the nation has introduced electrified means of transport such as metro, tram, and buses. Nonetheless, the dependency on hydrocarbon-based power plants diminishes the positive impact of said approach. For this reason, the present article analyses the potential of deploying hydrogen fuel cell vehicles to reduce the environmental footprint of Qatar’s transport sector. To carry out the study environmental and economic aspects are considered in a life cycle cost (LCC) analysis to compare conventional, electric, and hydrogen fuel cell buses and cars. Results indicate that initially, conventional vehicles exhibit the best LCC, followed by electric and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles; however, nonetheless, the latter gains parity with the former technologies in due time. This outcome is further analyzed while introducing policy instruments to incentivize hydrogen fuel cel vehicle adoption. As a result, while implementing a 20% purchase subsidy, HFCV’s LCC will become more competitive than EVs by 2030, yielding 0.19 and 0.20 US$/km, respectively. Moreover, a 40% purchase tax on conventional vehicles will transform them into the least attractive option by 2030, with an LCC of 0.237 US$/km. • Benchmarking hydrogen fuel cell technology with conventional and electric vehicles • Identification of life cycle cost’s key parameters for three vehicle technologies • Analyzing time-related influence of LCC elements via parametric studies • Initial scenario analysis confirms that conventional vehicles yield the lowest LCC • Policy instruments deployment converts H 2 fuel cell vehicles into the best option