Hydrogen Fuel Cell Bus Technology State of the ... - NEXTHYLIGHTS

Hydrogen Fuel Cell Bus Technology State of the Art Review
6.1 Total Cost of Ownership
So far we have compared the technical performance of hybrid fuel cell buses with
alternative technologies. In practice, however, transit operators compare different
options through Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) models. We developed a TCO model for
hybrid fuel cell buses and for three of the alternative technologies discussed above:
diesel, Hybrid diesel and Trolley buses. Battery buses have not been considered due to
lack of data on the actual cost of recharging facilities.
The TCO model considers 9 elements:
Bus financing and depreciation
Overhead Contact Wire Network financing (for trolley buses)
Fuel cost
Taxes on Fuel
Propulsion related replacement costs 13
Bus maintenance fee 14
Extra maintenance facility costs 15
Overhead Contact Wire Network maintenance (for trolley buses)
CO2 price (e.g. existence of a carbon pricing system in the transport sector)
The output of the model is a yearly cost per km travelled per bus (e.g. € / km / bus). We
consider for all the bus technologies a discount period of 12 years, a discount rate of
3.5% 16 and an annual mileage of 70,000km (which is representative of a heavy use
urban transit route).
The fuel cost has been modelled using capital and maintenance cost assumptions from
equipment providers, and hence is scalable with the hydrogen demand at the bus depot
(larger depots use more fuel and hence reduce the effect of capital and maintenance
costs). The input data for the TCO analysis are based on the information collected from
interviewees as well as bus operators in the Hydrogen Bus Alliance members. The
13 The propulsion replacement cost for fuel cell buses is the cost for refurbishing the fuel cell
unit at the end of its life (assumed to be at the end of the warranty). We assume this cost is 65%
of the cost of an equivalent new unit between 2010 and 2015 and 40% of it by 2020 (cost
reduction is foreseen to come from improved stacks’ manufacturing processes).
14 The maintenance fee for hybrid fuel cell, hybrid diesel and trolley buses includes the
maintenance cost of the hybrid-electric / electric drivetrain.
15 Because hydrogen is generally treated as a hazardous chemical in most of the European
regulations and standards, maintenance facilities for hydrogen-fuelled bus must be adapted (or
constructed) in order to meet all the safety criteria.
16 We assume that investors (e.g. bus operators) can access public funds or financial schemes
and hence benefit from low discount rates for financing bus projects. 3.5% is a typical figure
within the European Union.
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