Dissertation Defence: Refueling Infrastructure Planning for Hydrogen-Powered Road Freight Transportation in Canada: A Life Cycle Thinking Approach

Sandun Tharaka Wanniarachchi, supervised by Dr. Kasun Hewage, will defend their dissertation titled “Refueling Infrastructure Planning for Hydrogen-Powered Road Freight Transportation in Canada: A Life Cycle Thinking Approach” in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Civil Engineering.

An abstract for Sandun Tharaka Wanniarachchi’s dissertation is included below.

Examinations are open to all members of the campus community as well as the general public. Please email Kasun.Hewage@ubc.ca to receive the Zoom link for this exam.

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Abstract

The transportation sector is the second-largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in Canada. It was responsible for 22% of the national greenhouse gas inventory in 2022. Hence, it is crucial to reduce emissions from transportation to achieve greenhouse gas reduction targets. Emissions from heavy-duty freight trucks have doubled over the past three decades and currently account for 25% of Canada’s transportation sector emissions. Among a number of initiatives undertaken to reduce transportation emissions, transformation to low emissions fuels such as electricity and hydrogen have shown great potential. Accordingly, this study focused on heavy-duty hydrogen fuel cell trucks as a promising alternative to conventional diesel-powered heavy-duty freight trucks. Hydrogen trucks offer several benefits, such as greater driving ranges and refuelling convenience compared to battery-electric trucks, making them a viable solution to the emissions problem. Nevertheless, its wide-scale integration is impeded by higher fuel costs and lack of refuelling infrastructure. While considerable work has been conducted on evaluating hydrogen supply chain technologies and fuel cell technology, mainly focusing on light-duty passenger vehicles, in-depth investigations on hydrogen infrastructure planning for heavy-duty freight vehicles are widely overlooked.
Therefore, this research aimed to develop a life cycle thinking-based decision support package for planning necessary infrastructure for hydrogen-fueled freight trucks. This study employed life cycle assessments and cost assessments coupled with multi-criteria decision-making methods to investigate the feasibility of hydrogen trucks compared to electric trucks. Subsequently, a multi-objective optimization was developed to determine the optimum infrastructure configuration covering hydrogen fuel supply chain stages and end-point refuelling. The study further employed system dynamics modelling to design and evaluate necessary policy interventions to accelerate the market diffusion of hydrogen trucks. The deliverables of this research are geared towards supporting the hydrogen supply chain planning and management for the heavy-duty trucking industry. The developed decision support package will assist fleet operators, utility providers, investors, and regulatory bodies in identifying the optimum strategies to promote heavy-duty hydrogen trucks and other zero-emission vehicles to reduce emissions from the freight transport sector. The findings will contribute to the development of a reliable, efficient, and zero-emission transportation sector.