Full emissions and energy consumption life cycle assessment of different Heavy-Duty vehicles powered by Electricity, Hydrogen, Methanol, and LNG fuels produced from various sources

This comprehensive study provides a detailed Well to Wheels (WTW) Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of various Heavy-duty Vehicles (HDVs) including a Long-Haul Truck (LHT), Intercity Bus (ICB), and Refuse Truck (RT) powered by different energy sources and fuels including electricity, hydrogen, methanol, Liquified Natural Gas (LNG), and Low Sulphur (LS) diesel for benchmarking. The findings show that Hydrogen from renewable sources offers the lowest WTW CO₂, CH₄, and NOx emissions, though its production is energy intensive. Methanol and hydrogen from Natural Gas (NG) exhibit the highest emissions due to high fuel consumption and energy-intensive production processes. LNG shows lower CO₂ and NOx emissions compared to LS diesel but higher CH₄ emissions, necessitating improvements in LNG production. Electrically powered HDVs, despite reducing NOx emissions, produce comparable CO₂ and higher CH₄ emissions due to the current global electricity mix. Amongst the studied HDV types, RTs exhibit the highest WTW CO₂ and energy consumption due to frequent stops and idling, while LHTs show the lowest emissions and energy consumption. LNG-fuelled RT and LHT reduce WTW CO₂ emissions by 8% and 5.6%, and NOx emissions by around 31% and 33%, respectively, compared to LS diesel. The study underscores the need for tailored solutions based on HDV type, advancements in renewable energy infrastructure, and supportive policies to facilitate the transition to sustainable fuel technologies. Focus on developing infrastructure for production of hydrogen from renewable sources, supporting innovations in energy efficient fuel production technologies, and the need for enhancing energy efficiency of vehicular powertrain to achieve a sustainable HDV sector are also highlighted.