Techno-economic analysis of different shades of renewable and non-renewable energy-based hydrogen for fuel cell electric vehicles

The transport sector is crucial in our day-to-day socio-economic activities since it connects people and moves things around the world. Presently, the transport sector is predominantly driven by fossil-fuel-based systems, leading to an unsustainable impact on the climate system. In the quest for an alternative to fossil fuel, hydrogen holds promise in transport applications, whether by powering fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) or as feedstock for synthetic fuels. Even though hydrogen-powered FCEVs are zero-carbon and have high-well-to-wheel efficiency, the high production cost of hydrogen and lack of refueling infrastructure hinder its larger market penetration. In this review, firstly the techno-economic performance of the five different shades of hydrogen, grey, blue, green, purple, turquoise, and their associated carbon footprint were elaborately discussed. Second, analysis of levelized cost of different hydrogen colors to provide a clear picture of the cost-relative challenges and limitations in renewable and non-renewable hydrogen production routes and discussed the cost-effective hydrogen pathways. Third, the “chicken and egg” hindrance in deploying hydrogen refueling infrastructure by discussing the research on infrastructure deployment, hydrogen delivery pathways, and hydrogen refueling station (HRS) design based on the market of FCEVs across the world were addressed from global industrial perspective. Finally, the current status and future trends of on-and off-road hydrogen-powered FCEVs were discussed by addressing the key challenges to construct low carbon sustainable transportation.