A hydrogen engine, electric motor, battery, fuel cell, and hydrogen tank are all part of Renault’s Scenic Vision concept.
The 2.5 kilogramme tank is situated in front of the vehicle.
It will take about five minutes to fill, according to Renault.
The Scenic Vision’s 40 kilowatt-hour battery is recyclable, according to the French automaker, and will be manufactured in France by 2024.
Renault has revealed specifications of an electric-hydrogen hybrid concept car, citing hydrogen technology as “one of the choices to make electric vehicles more convenient,” according to the French automaker.
A hydrogen engine, electric motor, battery, fuel cell, and hydrogen tank are all part of Renault’s Scenic Vision concept.
The 2.5 kilogramme tank is positioned in the vehicle’s front and takes about five minutes to fill, according to Renault.
According to a concept document released on Thursday, the Scenic Vision’s 40 kilowatt hour battery is recyclable and will be manufactured in a French facility by 2024.
The proposal “prefigures the exterior design of the new Scénic 100 percent electric model for 2024,” according to Gilles Vidal, Renault’s director of design.
The electric-hydrogen powertrain was “part of a longer-term ambition, beyond 2030,” according to the business.
The hydrogen fuel cell in the Scenic Vision is supposed to help increase the vehicle’s range on longer excursions.
“You will be able to drive up to 800 km [a little over 497 miles] without stopping to charge the battery in 2030 and beyond, once the network of hydrogen stations is extensive enough,” Renault stated.
Hydrogen, which the International Energy Agency describes as a “versatile energy carrier,” has a wide range of applications and may be used in a variety of industries.
It can be made in a variety of ways.
Electrolysis is one way, which involves breaking water into oxygen and hydrogen using an electric current.
Some refer to this process as green or renewable hydrogen if the electricity utilised in it comes from a renewable source like wind or solar.
Although the great bulk of hydrogen generation is now based on fossil fuels, Renault’s hybrid is expected to employ green hydrogen.
Renault’s electric-hydrogen concept exemplifies how automakers are attempting to build low- and zero-emission vehicles that can compete with a variety of gasoline and diesel vehicles.
“Several methods to complement electric motors are currently being investigated to fulfil the requirements connected with long-distance travel,” Renault explained.
“One option for making electric vehicles more convenient is to use hydrogen technology.”
The Renault Group has previously established a joint venture with Plug Power named Hyvia in the field of hydrogen transportation.
It focuses on hydrogen fuel cells in light commercial cars and the deployment of hydrogen charging stations, among other things.
Renault’s concept of producing a hydrogen-powered passenger vehicle is not unique.
Toyota, for example, began developing fuel-cell vehicles in 1992, in which hydrogen from a tank is mixed with oxygen to produce energy.
The Mirai, a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle, was introduced by the Japanese company in 2014.
Hyundai and BMW, as well as smaller enterprises like Riversimple in the United Kingdom, are interested in hydrogen.
While the aforementioned corporations are considering hydrogen’s possibilities, several high-profile people in the automotive industry are sceptical.
Herbert Diess, the CEO of Germany’s Volkswagen Group, spoke out on the topic in February 2021.
He tweeted, “It’s time for politicians to recognise science.”
“Green hydrogen is required in the steel, chemical, and aerospace industries…
and should not be found in automobiles.
Rollout and transportation are far too costly, inefficient, slow, and complicated.
After all, there aren’t any #hydrogen automobiles in sight.”
Despite the Scenic Vision concept’s introduction on Thursday, Renault CEO Luca de Meo appears to be hesitant when discussing hydrogen’s potential, according to comments reported by Autocar.
In February 2020, the Brussels-based campaign group Transport and Environment emphasised how fiercely hydrogen would compete in the transportation sector.
Green hydrogen would not only have to compete with grey and blue hydrogen, which are created using fossil fuels, according to T&E.
T&E stated, “It will compete with gasoline, diesel, marine fuel oil, kerosene, and, of course, electricity.”
“Wherever batteries are a viable answer — automobiles, vans, urban, regional, and possibly long-haul trucks; ferries — hydrogen will face an uphill battle due to its lower efficiency and, as a result, significantly higher fuel costs.”
