Cars with hydrogen and fuel cells are “more climate-friendly” than battery-powered vehicles if their range is 250km or more.
That’s according to a study by researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE who examined the greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) generated during the manufacture, operation and disposal of battery and fuel cell vehicles with ranges of 300km and more.
In their study, funded by H2 Mobility Germany, the researchers created a detailed breakdown of how much material is needed for the production of batteries, fuel cells and hydrogen tanks, and what emissions are generated during its production and processing.
The result: the GHG footprint of the production and recycling of a fuel cell system including tank corresponds approximately to that of an electric drive with a 45-50 kWh storage capacity. For cars with larger batteries, more GHG are emitted than for the fuel-cell system in a comparable power class.
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