Fuel cell vs. battery electric: Energy consumption modeling of zero emission heavy vehicles in New Zealand

Battery electric and fuel cell powertrains are commercially available options for truck operators looking to decarbonize their fleet, but it is not clear which of these technologies is best suited for long-haul heavy vehicles. In this paper we model the energy consumption of zero emission trucks on real trucking routes in New Zealand, taking account of changes in elevation and road curvature. The energy required from the powertrain was calculated considering the truck’s kinetic energy, potential energy and the work to overcome air and rolling resistance. The results show that the energy system of a fuel cell truck weighs 45%–75% less than that of a battery electric truck, depending on the journey distance. The mass of the energy system required to complete a journey was found to scale linearly with distance traveled. Truck operators must consider that, for many long-haul freight applications, battery electric trucks will be confined to carrying smaller payloads than fuel cell trucks due to the battery mass that must be carried. On the other hand, battery electric trucks consume 45% less energy than fuel cell trucks. This tradeoff between payload size and energy consumption will be key for comparing the economics of the two technologies.