The Quebec government has released the final report on its ambitious test bed for fuel cell electric vehicles (FCVs), highlighting significant progress in the province’s sustainable energy transition. Launched in April 2019, the project aimed to document the performance of FCVs in cold weather, develop expertise in hydrogen technology, raise awareness, and accelerate fleet electrification.
Over the four-year study period, a fleet of 46 FCVs—comprising 45 Toyota Mirai and one Hyundai Nexo—was deployed in the greater Capitale-Nationale region. The vehicles were equipped with high-precision sensors, collecting detailed data over nearly 500,000 kilometres.
The performance indicators for the test bed’s fleet are grouped into four main categories: vehicle deployment, driving behaviour, refuelling behaviour, and hydrogen consumption. The fleet of hydrogen vehicles covered a total distance of 498,827 km between April 2019 and 30 June 2023. If the same distance had been covered by petrol cars with an average consumption of 10 L/100 km, the total petrol consumption would have been 49,883 litres. Considering that one litre of petrol produces around 2.3 kg of CO2, the FCVs on the test bed thus prevented the emission of around 115 tonnes of CO2.
The performance data revealed seasonal variations, with optimum efficiency in summer (95 km/kg of hydrogen) and an average of around 70 km/kg in winter. The test bed also facilitated the construction of Quebec’s first hydrogen refuelling station, equipped with on-site electrolytic hydrogen production. A total of 6,101 kg of green hydrogen was produced, with a relatively stable production cost of approximately $9.1/kg (approx. €6.00/kg)
A study was conducted to calculate the cost of producing 1 kg of hydrogen, taking into account the mass of hydrogen produced and the energy consumed by the hydrogen production station. The average monthly energy consumption required to produce 1 kg of hydrogen and transport it to the distribution station remained relatively stable at around 64.7 kWh. This consumption includes the energy used by the electrolyser and the approximate consumption of the compression systems and the filling station (approximately 9 kWh/kg).
The cost of producing 1 kg of hydrogen, calculated using Hydro-Québec rates (/kWh) and excluding additional costs such as maintenance, averaged approximately \9.05/kg during the test bed period. Tariff G9, which varies between $0.144 and $0.15/kWh, was applied to the project.
While the test bed achieved its initial objectives, it also encountered challenges that require further attention to optimise efficiency and sustainability. The experiences and lessons learned from this pilot project offer valuable insights for the future development of hydrogen in the transport sector.
Image: Toyota
