Life cycle assessment of liquid hydrogen fuel for vehicles with different production routes in China

Liquid hydrogen has advantages in terms of energy density, refueling speed, driving range and emission performance compared to electric and gasoline in road vehicle applications. However, the disadvantage is that high energy losses occur during production and utilization. Therefore, it is necessary to consider the energy consumption and emissions of different hydrogen production options and to choose the best development option among the various pathways. In this study, a fuel life cycle analysis model was constructed for six hydrogen production pathways and two comparison pathways from the Chinese reality by using the assessment methodology of life cycle assessment (LCA). The life cycle environmental impacts of these pathways were accounted by the GREET software, which yielded the energy consumption, greenhouse gas and pollutant emissions at each phase of these fuel pathways. An evaluation of the environmental impacts of each of these pathways was also completed by introducing the Environmental Toxicity Impact Evaluation (ETIE) methodology. The results showed that natural gas (production plant and refueling station) and solar photovoltaic pathway could effectively reduce energy consumption. In the future, it will be necessary to optimize the technical structure of hydrogen production and storage to accelerate the achievement of energy savings and emission reductions. •Life cycle assessment of automotive liquid hydrogen fuels in China.•Well-to-wheel energy consumption and emissions analysis of liquid hydrogen production.•Selection of the most environmentally sustainable liquid hydrogen production pathway.•Recommendations are given to reduce energy consumption and pollutant emissions.