Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle as a Power Plant: Techno-Economic Scenario Analysis of a Renewable Integrated Transportation and Energy System for Smart Cities in Two Climates

Renewable, reliable, and affordable future power, heat, and transportation systems require efficient and versatile energy storage and distribution systems. If solar and wind electricity are the only renewable energy sources, what role can hydrogen and fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) have in providing year-round 100% renewable, reliable, and affordable energy for power, heat, and transportation for smart urban areas in European climates? The designed system for smart urban areas uses hydrogen production and FCEVs through vehicle-to-grid (FCEV2G) for balancing electricity demand and supply. A techno-economic analysis was done for two technology development scenarios and two different European climates. Electricity and hydrogen supply is fully renewable and guaranteed at all times. Combining the output of thousands of grid-connected FCEVs results in large overcapacities being able to balance large deficits. Self-driving, connecting, and free-floating car-sharing fleets could facilitate vehicle scheduling. Extreme peaks in balancing never exceed more than 50% of the available FCEV2G capacity. A simple comparison shows that the cost of energy for an average household in the Mid Century scenario is affordable: 520–770 €/year (without taxes and levies), which is 65% less compared to the present fossil situation. The system levelized costs in the Mid Century scenario are 71–104 €/MWh for electricity and 2.6–3.0 €/kg for hydrogen—and we expect that further cost reductions are possible.