Optimal Powertrain Sizing of Hydrogen Fuel Cell Electric Coach for Lifetime Carbon Footprint, Total Costs and Fuel Consumption Minimization

The current work explores the optimal sizing of fuel cell electric powertrain for long-distance coach considering the minimization of lifetime carbon footprint, overall costs and fuel consumption to assess the right design approach for such unconventional heavy-duty drivetrains in the present-day scenario. A range of fuel production sources such as green, blue, grey hydrogen and EU renewable CO2 threshold have been considered for environmental impact minimization and compared with the total costs and fuel efficiency focused drivetrain solutions. The effect of components sizing on overall vehicle mass, battery power limits, powertrain efficiency, and the corresponding environmental-economic impact of changing required H2 tank capacity to fulfill a standard vehicle range has also been analyzed. Up to 6.1% economic and 3.9% lifetime carbon footprint savings were found from the optimized powertrain for VECTO Coach cycle and 12.4% and 6.9% reduction for sInterurban cycle.