A Case study

This case treated the following aspects: economic criteria, environmental criteria, and a combined impact criterion. The latter is a normalized indicator that takes into account the effects on both environmental and economic performance of the options considered.

Case compared four kinds of fuel-propulsion vehicle alternatives. Two additional kinds of vehicles, both of which are zero polluting at fuel utilization stage (during vehicle operation) were also included in analysis. The vehicles analyzed were as follows:

1. 1.  Conventional gasoline vehicle (gasoline fuel and ICE),

2.  Hybrid vehicle (gasoline fuel, electrical drive, and large rechargeable battery),

3.  Electric vehicle (high-capacity electrical battery and electrical drive/generator),

4.  Hydrogen fuel cell vehicle (high-pressure hydrogen fuel tank, fuel cell, electrical drive),

5.  Hydrogen internal combustion vehicle (high-pressure hydrogen fuel tank and ICE),

6.  Ammonia-fueled vehicle (liquid ammonia fuel tank, ammonia thermo-catalytic decomposition and separation unit to generate pure hydrogen, hydrogen-fueled ICE).

For environmental impact analysis , all stages of the life cycle were considered, starting from

• a.  The extraction of natural resources to produce materials and

b.  Ending with conversion of the energy stored onboard the vehicle into mechanical energy for vehicle displacement and

c.  Other purposes (heating, cooling, lighting, etc.).

In addition, vehicle production stages and end-of-life disposal contribute substantially when quantifying the life cycle environmental impact of fuel-propulsion alternatives.

The analysis were conducted on six vehicles, each was representative of one of the above discussed categories. The specific vehicles were:

1. 1.  Toyota Corolla (conventional vehicle),

2.  Toyota Prius (hybrid vehicle),

3.  Toyota RAV4EV (electric vehicle),

4.  Honda FCX (hydrogen fuel cell vehicle),

5.  Ford Focus H₂ -ICE (hydrogen ICE vehicle),

6.  Ford Focus H₂ -ICE adapted to use ammonia as source of hydrogen (ammonia-fueled ICE vehicle).