The purpose of this paper is to make a preliminary assessment of the description of a system made in Fuel Cells in a Medium-Sized City, a paper presented at this same conference. It discusses the consequences of introducing a fuel cell public transport system in a fictitious medium sized city in Europe, "Excity". First, the vehicle stock capacity needed for reducing congestion to an acceptable level is calculated. Thereafter, a route system is designed for a light rail or a guided bus system, both of them using modularly designed 12 meter fuel cell vehicles. The effect requirement and energy use per vehicle, as well as the total hydrogen required for the complete transport system are calculated. Different methods of producing sustainable hydrogen are described and compared regarding carbon dioxide emissions and land use. Benefits of a co-evolution between the infrastructures of the urban hydrogen and the public transport system are also discussed. The possibility of using automatic operation in certain parts of the routes combined with divisible sets of vehicles is assessed, as well as using these vehicles for producing electricity and heat when parked. The carbon dioxide emissions of the new urban transport system are calculated and compared with a "business as usual" scenario with respect to environmental goals. The reduction of carbon dioxide emissions from the increased ridership in the local public transport system proposed - full use - is not large, but might fulfil the goals of 2020. If more of the longer trips within the entire urban network are also substituted, and if the possibility of using parked fuel cell cars for producing electricity and heat at park & ride facilities, stimulated by some earnings for the car owners and by the added values in the public transport system, is exploited, the effect could be quite substantial. For the covering abstract see ITRD E128680.
Samenvatting