1. Introduction
Both the federal and state
governments have enacted legislation
designed to promote the eventual
widespread adoption of zero-emissions
vehicles. For instance, California enacted
the Zero-Emissions-Vehicle (ZEV)
program mandating automakers to claim
ZEV credits for a small percentage of
total vehicle sales starting in 2003.
Further, the last version of the 2003
energy bill included over a billion dollars
in incentives for automakers to develop
technology related to Fuel-Cell Vehicles.
Currently, the Fuel-Cell Vehicle (FCV)
and the Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV)
are the only potential ZEV replacements
of the internal combustion engine,
however, no studies have directly
compared the two technologies in terms
of performance and cost when
considering the most recent advances in
battery and fuel-cell technology. Below,
we compare BEV and FCV technologies
based on a vehicle model that is capable
of delivering 100 kW of peak power, and
60 kWh total energy to the wheels.
1
This
translates into a vehicle that is capable of
delivering 135 horsepower and driving
approximately 300 miles. The vehicle
characteristics are comparable to a small
to midsize car, such as a Honda Civic,
representing the largest segment of the
light-duty vehicle class [1].
We first compare the relative
efficiency of the vehiclesí well-to-wheel
pathways. This allows us to calculate the
amount of energy a power plant must
produce in order to deliver a unit of
energy to the wheels of a FCV and a
BEV. Next, we compute the volume,
weight, and refueling costs associated
with each vehicle. We make these
calculations first assuming that the
hydrogen for the FCVs and the electricity