Economic and environmental assessment of replacing current diesel trucks with hydrogen fuel cell electric trucks for green logistics: A comparative case study applied among AB InBev logistics operations in Germany.

Details

Supervisors

Carlos Desmet

Faculty

Louvain School of Management

Degree label

Master [120] : ingénieur de gestion, à finalité spécialisée

Abstract

The transportation sector is one of the pillars of our economy but remains also one of the highest emitting sector in terms of greenhouse gases accounting for 25% of the emissions in Europe. Zero-emission vehicles at use phase such as hydrogen fuel cell trucks are often cited as one of the potential solutions to decarbonize European mobility. However, there are lingering questions about the economic viability and the environmental impact of such vehicles. The objective of the study is to analyze the economic and environmental impacts linked to the introduction of hydrogen fuel cell trucks in the transport sector. It focuses on the logistics operations of the AB InBev brewery group in Germany with an economic calculation based on the cost of ownership (TCO) and an environmental analysis based on a life cycle assessment (LCA) of the hydrogen trucks versus conventional diesel trucks. The results of the study show a significantly higher total cost of ownership for hydrogen trucks in the early years and suggest that the annual distance traveled by the truck has a positive influence on the profitability threshold, allowing to reach the point of TCO parity with the diesel truck faster. Subsequently, the results of our LCA demonstrate that hydrogen trucks emit less greenhouse gases than conventional diesel trucks provided that the hydrogen employed to fuel the trucks is produced from a renewable electricity source. Otherwise, it leads to even higher emissions compared to diesel trucks.