An economic, ecological and energetic assessment of battery electric, hybrid and fuel cell cars

The core objective of this paper is to conduct an integrated assessment of battery electric (BEV), hybrid and fuel cell vehicles (FCV) from an ecological, energetic and economic point-of-view in a dynamic framework up to 2050 in comparison to conventional fossil fuel based cars. The major results and conclusions of this analysis are: From energetic as well as from ecological point-of-view BEV and FCV are currently clearly preferable to conventional cars. Yet, this applies only if the electricity respectively the hydrogen used in the cars is produced from renewable energy sources. With respect to the economic competitiveness of alternative powertrains compared to conventional vehicles in the most favorable case BEV will enter the market by about 2025. FCV will become competitive even later, by about 2040.