Electric vehicles development in Sub-Saharan Africa: Performance assessment of standalone renewable energy systems for hydrogen refuelling and electricity charging stations (HRECS). (20th November 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Ampah, Jeffrey Dankwa; Afrane, Sandylove; Agyekum, Ephraim Bonah; Adun, Humphrey; Yusuf, Abdulfatah Abdu; Bamisile, Olusola
• Is Part Of: Journal of cleaner production. Volume 376(2022)
• Publication Date: 2022-11-20
• Subjects: Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) -- Fuel cell Electric vehicles (FCEVs) -- Renewable electricity -- Standalone hybrid system -- Hydrogen Refuelling and Electricity charging station (HRECS) -- Sub-saharan Africa; Factory and trade waste -- Management -- Periodicals; Manufactures -- Environmental aspects -- Periodicals; Déchets industriels -- Gestion -- Périodiques; Usines -- Aspect de l'environnement -- Périodiques; 628.5
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.134238
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0959-6526

Abstract

Abstract: One of the main setbacks to electric vehicles (EVs) adoption relates to the unavailability of the required charging stations across a jurisdiction. In addition, drawing the required energy of the EVs from a fossil fuel-dominated grid does not only minimize the cleaner benefits of EVs but also puts enormous pressure on an already stressed grid network in electricity-deficient regions like Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Hence, in the current study, six different 100% hybrid renewable energy systems based on powerplants of solar, wind, and biomass have been proposed for meeting the energy needs of 70 and 30 battery and fuel cell electric vehicles, respectively using Ghana as a case study. With the aid of HOMER Pro software and multicriteria decision-making tools, the hybrid system, biogas generator-photovoltaic emerged as the most feasible of the six proposed solutions from a technical, economic, and environmental standpoint. This winning system produces 3.9 GWh/yr and 55.6 tonnes/yr of electricity and hydrogen, respectively. The NPC, LCOE, LCOH, and payback period was recorded as $6.53 million, $0.52/kWh, $9.09/kg and ∼8 years, respectively. Approximately, 4 tonnes of GHG emissions are produced by the HRECS each year, and the amount of CO2 emissions avoided from replacing 100 gasoline vehicles with the proposed EVs has been obtained as 460 tons/yr. With the aid of sensitivity analysis, it became apparent that the feasibility of the proposed systems could improve with improvement in components' efficiencies and lifetime, and reduction in unit costs. The current work has several contributions to the sustainable development goals (7, 8, 11, 13), and could aid in accelerating EV penetration in SSA. Graphical abstract: Image 1 Highlights: A hybrid RE standalone HRECS for EVs in Ghana. Investigation by HOMER and CRITIC-PROMETHEE II methods. PV + Biogas generator presents most feasible results for HRECS. Break-even Grid Extension Distance investigated. Standalone vrs grid-connectivity analysis.