Expected impacts on greenhouse gas and air pollutant emissions due to a possible transition towards a hydrogen economy in German road transport
- Transitioning German road transport partially to hydrogen energy is among the possibilities being discussed to help meet national climate targets. This study investigates impacts of a hypothetical, complete transition from conventionally-fueled to hydrogen-powered German transport through representative scenarios. Our results show that German emissions change between -179 and +95 MtCO(2)eq annually, depending on the scenario, with renewable-powered electrolysis leading to the greatest emissions reduction, while electrolysis using the fossilintense current electricity mix leads to the greatest increase. German energy emissions of regulated pollutants decrease significantly, indicating the potential for simultaneous air quality improvements. Vehicular hydrogen demand is 1000 PJ annually, requiring 446-525 TWh for electrolysis, hydrogen transport and storage, which could be supplied by future German renewable generation, supporting the potential for CO2-free hydrogen traffic and increased energy security. Thus hydrogen-powered transportTransitioning German road transport partially to hydrogen energy is among the possibilities being discussed to help meet national climate targets. This study investigates impacts of a hypothetical, complete transition from conventionally-fueled to hydrogen-powered German transport through representative scenarios. Our results show that German emissions change between -179 and +95 MtCO(2)eq annually, depending on the scenario, with renewable-powered electrolysis leading to the greatest emissions reduction, while electrolysis using the fossilintense current electricity mix leads to the greatest increase. German energy emissions of regulated pollutants decrease significantly, indicating the potential for simultaneous air quality improvements. Vehicular hydrogen demand is 1000 PJ annually, requiring 446-525 TWh for electrolysis, hydrogen transport and storage, which could be supplied by future German renewable generation, supporting the potential for CO2-free hydrogen traffic and increased energy security. Thus hydrogen-powered transport could contribute significantly to climate and air quality goals, warranting further research and political discussion about this possibility.…
| Author details: | Lindsey Weger CoenenORCiDGND, Joana LeitãoORCiD, Mark G. LawrenceORCiDGND |
|---|---|
| DOI: | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2020.11.014 |
| ISSN: | 0360-3199 |
| ISSN: | 1879-3487 |
| Title of parent work (English): | International journal of hydrogen energy : official journal of the International Association for Hydrogen Energy |
| Publisher: | Elsevier |
| Place of publishing: | Oxford |
| Publication type: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Date of first publication: | 2021/01/27 |
| Publication year: | 2021 |
| Release date: | 2023/03/16 |
| Tag: | Air; Emission scenarios; Fuel cell electric vehicle; German road transport; Greenhouse gas mitigation; Hydrogen economy; pollution |
| Volume: | 46 |
| Issue: | 7 |
| Number of pages: | 16 |
| First page: | 5875 |
| Last Page: | 5890 |
| Funding institution: | Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS), Potsdam, Germany - German Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF)Federal Ministry of Education & Research (BMBF); Brandenburg State Ministry for Science, Research and Culture (MWFK) |
| Organizational units: | Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Fakultät / Institut für Umweltwissenschaften und Geographie |
| DDC classification: | 6 Technik, Medizin, angewandte Wissenschaften / 62 Ingenieurwissenschaften / 620 Ingenieurwissenschaften und zugeordnete Tätigkeiten |
| 6 Technik, Medizin, angewandte Wissenschaften / 66 Chemische Verfahrenstechnik / 660 Chemische Verfahrenstechnik | |
| Peer review: | Referiert |
| Publishing method: | Open Access / Hybrid Open-Access |
| License (German): |  CC-BY - Namensnennung 4.0 International |
