A Review of Fuel Cell Vehicles for Road Transport: Performance, Economic, and Environmental Evaluations

Abstract

Road transport is a vital component of daily life and logistics, relying on vehicles such as trucks, buses, and motorcycles. However, its rapid growth has increased carbon emissions, posing serious environmental challenges. To address this, hydrogen has emerged as a key energy carrier for enabling green transportation. Fuel cells, utilizing hydrogen's energy potential, offer an efficient solution for sustainable mobility. This paper presents a comprehensive review of fuel cell vehicles (FCVs) and their role in achieving eco‐friendly transport. Studies of FCVs from 1998 to 2024 are classified by duty type and haul type. This classification encompasses key aspects such as modeling, simulation, software used, and metaheuristic algorithms, which contribute to optimizing system performance and efficiency. Cost and environmental impact assessments are also considered in the classification process. The findings reveal that most studies focus on fuel cell‐powered heavy‐duty trucks. MATLAB/Simulink is the most widely used software for conducting effective modeling and simulation of FCVs. Among the optimization methods reviewed, particle swarm optimization, genetic algorithms, modified student psychology optimization, and teaching–learning‐based optimization provide satisfactory results. Life‐cycle analysis is a critical factor in assessing the carbon emissions of FCVs. It is shown that using fuel cells could cause a reduction in life‐cycle emissions up to 0.2–0.4 tonnes CO 2 ‐eq per vehicle. This study contributes to the application of FCVs with low cost, high efficiency, and minimum ecological impact.