Vehicle manufacturer Stellantis has announced it will introduce a Citroen, Peugeot and Opel hydrogen fuel cell van by 2021.
The vehicle, which will have a 250-mile range, will be a medium-sized commercial van based on the company’s electric platform but simply replaced with a hydrogen fuel cell.
A mid-power system, it will have a 60 BHP fuel cell connected to three hydrogen tanks under the cargo floor, instead of a 50kWh electric battery unit. There will be an additional 10.5kWh battery under the seats of the van that provides power to a 121BHP electric motor for the front wheel – that exclusively offers 31 miles of range.
The combined system will therefore be capable of more than 250 miles with an approximate three-minute refill at a hydrogen fuel station, a currently considerably shorter time than electric charging, although hydrogen refuelling facilities across Europe and the UK are scarce.
In addition, there’s a 10.5kWh battery mounted under the seats which can be plugged in to be recharged. This provides power for the 121bhp electric motor which drives the front wheels and offers up to 31 miles of range on its own. Stellantis promises that the combined fuel cell system will be easily capable of more than 250 miles (subject to official WLTP tests) of zero-emissions driving, while three-minute refill times for the hydrogen system are far shorter than those for the electric vans.
Image courtesy of Stellantis
