Reliable and affordable future zero emission power, heat and transport systems require efficient and versatile energy storage and distribution systems. This paper answers the question whether for city areas, solar and wind electricity together with fuel cell electric vehicles as energy generators and distributors and hydrogen as energy carrier, can provide a 100% renewable, reliable and cost effective energy system, for power, heat, and transport. A smart city area is designed and dimensioned based on European statistics. Technological and cost data is collected of all system components, using existing technologies and well documented projections, for a Near Future and Mid Century scenario. An energy balance and cost analysis is performed. The smart city area can be balanced requiring 20% of the car fleet to be fuel cell vehicles in a Mid Century scenario. The system levelized cost in the Mid Century scenario is 0.09 (sic)/kWh for electricity, 2.4 (sic)/kg for hydrogen and specific energy cost for passenger cars is 0.02 (sic)/km. These results compare favorably with other studies describing fully renewable power, heat and transport systems. (C) 2017 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.