Alternative Fuels Data Center: Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle Emissions

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href="/fuels/hydrogen-basics">Hydrogen Basics</a></li><li><a href="/fuels/hydrogen-benefits">Benefits & Considerations</a></li><li><a href="/fuels/hydrogen-stations">Stations</a></li><li class="selected"><a class="selected" href="/vehicles/fuel-cell">Vehicles</a><ul><li><a href="/vehicles/fuel-cell-availability">Availability</a></li><li class="selected active-leaf"><a class="selected" href="/vehicles/emissions-hydrogen">Emissions</a></li></ul></li><li><a href="/fuels/laws/HY">Laws & Incentives</a></li></ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="span13" id="main_content">  <h1>Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle Emissions</h1> <p>Fuel cell electric vehicles emit only water vapor and warm air, producing no harmful tailpipe emissions. Similar to electricity, hydrogen is an energy carrier that can be produced from various feedstocks. These feedstocks and production methods should be considered when evaluating hydrogen emissions.</p> <p>The U.S. Department of Energy and Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) presentation, <a href="https://www.energy.gov/eere/fuelcells/h2iq-hour-learn-use-greet-model-emissions-life-cycle-analysis">Learn to use the GREET Model for Emissions Life Cycle Analysis</a>, provides viewers information about analyzing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for hydrogen production and distribution pathways. ANL shows that gaseous hydrogen produces fewer GHGs than liquid hydrogen in most cases. ANL has also investigated hydrogen's effects on petroleum use and found that using hydrogen as a fuel reduced petroleum use by nearly 100% regardless of fuel production pathway.</p> <figure style="padding-bottom:8px; padding-left:8px; text-align:center;"> <img src="/vite/assets/percent_changes_greenhouse-Cg-jCych.gif" alt="Chart showing the percent changes in greenhouse gas emissions (relative to baseline gasoline vehicles) for hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. Hydrogen use reduces GHG emissions for all fuel pathways except when the fuel is produced by electrolysis from typical grid electricity." border="0"> <figcaption style="text-align:left;"> Relative to gasoline vehicles (GVs) fueled by reformulated gasoline (RFG), hydrogen production for all fuel pathways creates fewer GHG emissions except when the fuel is produced by electrolysis from typical grid electricity. As the renewable content in the grid mix increases, the GHG emissions for electrolysis from that grid will be reduced as the GHG emissions come from the non-renewable portion of the grid mix. </figcaption> </figure>  </div> <div class="span7"> <div class="accordion plus-minus-accordion hidden-print" id="related_accordion"> </div> </div> </div> <footer> <div id="footer_nav" class="row-fluid hidden-print"> <div class="span4"> <div class="footer-nav-list"> <h5><a href="/fuels/">Fuels & Vehicles</a></h5> <ul><li><a href="/fuels/biodiesel">Biodiesel</a></li><li><a href="/fuels/electricity">Electricity</a></li><li><a href="/fuels/ethanol">Ethanol</a></li><li class="selected"><a class="selected" href="/fuels/hydrogen">Hydrogen</a></li><li><a href="/fuels/natural-gas">Natural Gas</a></li><li><a href="/fuels/propane">Propane</a></li><li><a href="/fuels/renewable-diesel">Renewable Diesel</a></li><li><a href="/fuels/sustainable-aviation-fuel">Sustainable Aviation Fuel</a></li><li><a href="/fuels/emerging">Emerging Fuels</a></li><li><a href="/fuels/prices.html">Fuel Prices</a></li></ul> </div> </div> <div class="span4"> <div class="footer-nav-list"> <h5><a href="/conserve/">Conserve Fuel</a></h5> <ul><li><a href="/conserve/idle-reduction-basics">Idle Reduction</a></li><li><a href="/conserve/equipment">Parts & Equipment</a></li><li><a href="/conserve/driving-behavior">Driving Behavior</a></li><li><a href="/conserve/rightsizing">Fleet Rightsizing</a></li><li><a href="/conserve/system-efficiency">System Efficiency</a></li></ul> </div> </div> <div class="span4"> <div class="footer-nav-list"> <h5><a href="/stations">Locate Stations</a></h5> <ul> <li><a href="/stations/#/find/nearest">Search by Location</a></li> <li><a href="/stations/#/find/route">Map a Route</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div class="span4"> <div class="footer-nav-list"> <h5><a href="/laws">Laws & Incentives</a></h5> <ul> <li><a href="/laws/search">Search</a></li> <li><a href="/laws/fed_summary">Federal</a></li> <li><a href="/laws/state">State</a></li> <li><a href="/laws/key_legislation">Key Legislation</a></li> <li><a href="/laws/utility-incentives">Utility Incentives</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div class="span4"> <div class="footer-nav-list"> <h5><a href="/tools">Data & Tools</a></h5> <ul> <li><a href="/widgets/">Widgets</a></li> <li><a href="/data_download/">Data Downloads</a></li> <li><a href="https://developer.nrel.gov/docs/transportation">APIs</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div class="span4"> <div class="footer-nav-list"> <h5><a href="/about.html">About</a></h5> <ul> <li><a href="https://www.energy.gov/eere/vehicles/vehicle-technologies-office-newsletters">Newsletters</a></li> </ul> <ul><li><a href="/project-assistance">Project Assistance</a></li><li><a href="/contacts">Contacts</a></li></ul> </div> </div> </div> <div id="footer_details" class="row-fluid"> <div class="span24"> <div class="row-fluid"> <div class="span7"></div> <div class="span10 trs"> <a href="mailto:technicalresponse@icf.com"><img alt="TRS" class="pull-left trs" src="/vite/assets/trs-DCCuckIt.png" /></a> <strong>Need project assistance?</strong> <br> Email the <a href="mailto:technicalresponse@icf.com" class="underline">Technical Response Service</a> or call <a href="tel:800-254-6735" itemprop="telephone" class="underline">800-254-6735</a> </div> </div> <br><br> The AFDC is a resource of the U.S. Department of Energy's <a href="https://energy.gov/eere/vehicles/technology-integration" class="underline">Vehicle Technologies Office</a>. <br><br> <a href="/contacts.html">Contacts</a> | <a href="https://energy.gov/about-us/web-policies">Web Site Policies</a> | <a href="https://energy.gov">U.S. Department of Energy</a> | <a href="https://www.usa.gov">USA.gov</a> </div> </div> </footer> </div> <div id="modal_gallery_enlarge" class="modal modal-gallery modal-gallery-enlarge hide"> <div class="modal-header"> <a class="close" data-dismiss="modal">×</a> <h2 class="modal-title"></h2> </div> <div class="modal-body"><div class="modal-image"></div></div> <div class="modal-footer"> <div class="modal-description"></div> </div> </div> </body> </html>

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Alternative Fuels Data Center: Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle Emissions