3. Conclusion
We use widely-cited government
studies to directly compare the costs
associated with producing and refueling
FCVs and BEVs. The analysis is based
on an automobile model (similar to a
Honda Civic) that is representative of the
largest segment of the automobile
market. A comparison is important since
the government and industry are
devoting increasing amounts of resources
to the goal of developing a marketable
ZEV and the BEV and the FCV are
currently the only feasible alternatives.
We find that government studies
indicate that it would be far cheaper, in
terms of production and refueling costs,
to develop a BEV, even if we do not
consider the substantial cost of building
and maintaining the hydrogen
infrastructure on which the FCV would
depend. Specifically, the results show
that in an economy based on renewable
energy, the FCV requires production of
between 2.4 and 2.6 times more energy
than a comparable BEV. The FCV
propulsion system weighs 43% more,
consumes nearly three-times more space
onboard the vehicle for the same power
output, and costs approximately 46%
more than the BEV system. Further, the
refueling cost of a FCV is nearly threetimes greater. Finally, when we relax the
renewable energy assumption, the BEV
is still more efficient, cleaner, and vastly
less expensive in terms of manufacturing,
refueling, and infrastructure investment.