Technical and Attitudinal Response Assessment of Fuel Cell Vehicles in Test Fleet Settings

Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles are one promising vehicle technology for reducing the long-term environmental and energy-use impacts of personal vehicle use. Depending on how the hydrogen is produced, these vehicles can have very low emissions of air pollutants and greenhouse gases while also avoiding the use of petroleum. This paper reports the findings of real-world research conducted by the University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley) to assess the energy use/vehicle fuel economy and behavioral response with actual fuel cell vehicle technology. In the behavioral response study, 50 participants drove Daimler “F-Cell” fuel cell vehicles over a period of several months, and were surveyed periodically in three phases regarding their experiences. The overall response to the vehicles was generally positive, with participants reporting that vehicle performance and safety were typically quite good. In the energy use assessment, vehicle fuel economy was measured in terms of miles per kilogram of hydrogen as assessed through refueling log collection and spreadsheet analysis. The results showed considerable variability, consistent with the diverse usage of the vehicle, with an annual average fuel economy of 48 miles per kilogram of hydrogen. INTRODUCTION Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles (FCVs) are being produced in prototype production to explore their technical feasibility and potential to reduce the environmental and energy-use impacts of personal vehicle use. These vehicles are currently in a pre-commercial/prototype testing phase but are expected to be produced in larger numbers in the 2009 to 2010 timeframe and may become more fully commercial around 2012 to 2015. Depending on how the hydrogen is produced, these vehicles can have very low emissions of air pollutants and greenhouse gases while also avoiding the use of petroleum. Fully addressing the environmental and energy problems in the transportation sector will require systemic changes, such as greater use of public transit, as well as modifications to vehicle technology. However, improving vehicle technology is important given the dominance of motor vehicle use in many countries and rising “automobility” around the globe. The primary motivation for alternative fuel vehicles, such as FCVs, today is a combination of concern about climate change, economic security (for oil import-dependent countries), and other environmental issues such as local air pollution and water and soil pollution. Approximately 14% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions come from the transportation sector worldwide (Baumert et al., 2005). GHG emissions from transportation are expected to 1 All authors are with the Transportation Sustainability Research Center, Inst. of Transportation Studies, University of California – Berkeley, 2614 Dwight Way, 2 Floor, MC 1728, Berkeley, CA, 94720-1728 Ph: 510-642-4501 / Email: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]