Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle Emissions
Fuel cell electric vehicles emit only water vapor and warm air, producing no 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.
Argonne National Laboratory's (ANL) report, Fuel Choices for Fuel Cell Vehicles: Well-to-Wheels Energy and Emission Impacts analyzed greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for 10 of the most common hydrogen production and distribution pathways. ANL found that gaseous hydrogen produces fewer GHGs than liquid hydrogen in most cases. ANL 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.
