An Analysis of Lithium-Ion Battery and Fuel Cell Powered Vehicles

Modern technologies like fuel cell vehicles (FCVs) and battery electric vehicles (BEVs) provide

us with clear pathways away from internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles to greener road

transportation. Both of these technologies have been on the market and the roads for years,

though to differing degrees. Battery electric vehicles are becoming a mature technology with a

robust network of charging stations and increasing rates of adoption. Meanwhile, fuel cell

vehicles (fueled at hydrogen pumping stations) are still a young technology, with both fewer

vehicles on the road and less fueling infrastructure. Each technology has its own advantages and

disadvantages as well as systemic and cost barriers when compared to the robust infrastructure

already in place for the conventional ICE vehicles.

 

This theoretical study aims to provide an overview of both FCV and BEV technologies. It then

examines the advantages and disadvantages of each technology and finally provides an analysis

of their costs and attractiveness to consumers. The key findings in this study assert that both

BEVs and FCVs have potential in the marketplace, though each excels in different areas. The

study finds that the cost of owning a BEV has been rapidly decreasing and its infrastructure

increasing, causing BEVs to become ever more attractive for an everyday consumer. But in

shifting an eye toward expanding BEV charging infrastructure and usage cases, the study finds

that the technology’s shortcomings become more pronounced. In these areas, the younger fuel

cell technology is able to excel and take market share as it advances and its cost lowers.

 

The information gathered in this study provides insight into the future uses of BEV and FCV

technologies and can be utilized by those researchers looking for a survey of costs of these

technologies. The cost data gathered and analyzed in this study could be used for establishing

predictive statistics of market penetration by the FCV and BEV technologies.