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Open Access Publications from the University of California

Scholarly Works (3 results)

  • Article
Dissertations (2023)
This thesis is a preliminary investigation into the technical feasibility and cost effectiveness of a hydrogen-fueled aviation system. A review on hydrogen aircraft reveals that designing and manufacturing hydrogen-powered aircraft is technically feasible. Major hydrogen supply technologies are available, but their capacity is far below the need of a hydrogen aviation system. A large airport such as San Francisco International Airport (SFO) can consume over 3000 metric tons of hydrogen per day, if its air traffic is entirely fueled by hydrogen. Such an energy flow could support over 3 million typical hydrogen fuel cell cars’ normal use. Airport liquid hydrogen cost modeling provides an estimation of hydrogen fuel cost as an aviation fuel. The cost is found to be 20%-90% higher than conventional jet fuel on a per energy basis, and supplying liquid hydrogen creates major electric power and land use challenge to the airport. The economies of scale are limited when hydrogen is supplied at an airport level scale, given hydrogen production, liquefaction, delivery, and storage technologies available today. Compared to other alternative aviation fuels (e.g. biofuel and LNG), hydrogen is highly costly but offers huge GHG saving potentials.
    Cover page: The Hydrogen Fuel Pathway for Air Transportation
    • Article
    ITS reports (2021)
    Zero-emission vehicles are seen as key technologies for reducing freight- related air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. California’s 2016 Sustainable Freight Action Plan established a target of 100,000 zero-emission freight vehicles utilizing renewable fuels by 2030. Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles are a promising zero-emission technology, especially for applications where batteries might be difficult to implement, such as heavy-duty trucks, rail, shipping and aviation. However, California’s current hydrogen infrastructure is sparse, with about 25 stations, primarily sited to serve fuel cell passenger vehicles and buses. New infrastructure strategies will be critical for implementing hydrogen freight applications. The researchers analyzed hydrogen infrastructure requirements, focusing on hydrogen fuel cells in freight applications, using a California-specific EXCEL-based scenario model developed under the Sustainable Transportation Energy Pathways program (STEPS) at the Institute of Transportation Studies at UC Davis (Miller et al, 2017). Hydrogen vehicle adoption and demand was estimated for trucks, rail, shipping, and aviation, for a range of scenarios out to 2050.
      Cover page: Hydrogen Infrastructure Requirements for Zero-Emission Freight Applications in California
      • Article
      Research Reports (2016)

      The University of California, Davis and the California Energy Commission held a series of three Emerging Technologies Workshops in late 2015 and early 2016. The goal of these workshops was to identify environmentally and economically promising alternative fuel and vehicle emerging technologies, and to identify and evaluate the critical business and policy barriers blocking their widespread adoption in the State and develop solutions for those barriers. Additionally, the workshops were to analyze the broad range of commercial barriers and identify strategies to increase the adoption and rapid scale-up of emerging technologies, fuels and fueling infrastructure that will help the state achieve its goals for air quality and greenhouse gas emissions. Each of these workshops convened groups of over 100 stakeholders engaged in the commercialization of emerging technologies for the light-, medium- and heavy-duty transportation sectors. Participants included manufacturers of incumbent and emerging alternative vehicle technologies, manufacturers of traditional and alternative fueling infrastructure, traditional and alternative fuel (including electricity) producers and supplies, financial institutions and investors, and public agencies concerned with energy, the environment, transportation, and the California economy.

      View the NCST Project Webpage

        Cover page: Assessment of Critical Barriers to Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Deployment – Workshop Series
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