How much electricity (in kWh) would be needed to produce the hydrogen to power a hydrogen-fuel cell car for the same total vehicle km as one liter of petrol in a typical conventional car?

Assume:

a. 63.0 kWh of electricity is required to generate 1 kg of hydrogen a high-pressure electrolyzer and pressurized to 350 bar suitable for onboard storage in a mobile application.

b. The energy content of hydrogen (HHV) is 142 MJ/kg (~40 kWh/kg)

c. The average energy efficiency of the fuel cells used is 44% (based on HHV), and that of the electric motors 86%

d. The energy content of unleaded petrol is 34.2 MJ/liter e. The conventional petrol car has an average energy efficiency of 20% (see the lecture materials)

Answer rating: 100% (QA)

Hydrogen is a very energetic fuel by weight yielding around 3... View the full answer