Vans could pave the way for more hydrogen cars

Renault isn’t alone in bringing hydrogen fuel cell technology to the market, with the Hyvia van and drop-in hydrogen filling stations.

Stellantis is on a similar course, too, with the Opel/Vauxhall Vivaro Hydrogen and Movano Hydrogen, the latter making its debut at the IAA Transportation show in Hanover earlier this year.

The Vivaro has a 248-mile range and is powered by a hybrid combination of a 45kW hydrogen fuel cell and rechargeable 10.5kWh lithium ion traction battery.

Three underfloor tanks can store up to 4.4kg of compressed hydrogen to power the van via its 134bhp electric drive motor.

The Movano has a range of 310 miles. Power is from a 148bhp electric motor with 302lb ft of torque and the hydrogen fuel cell works in conjunction with a 11kWh lithium ion battery.

In total, Stellantis will have eight hydrogen fuel cell versions of mid-size vans, from Opel/Vauxhall, Citroën, Fiat and Peugeot.

Hydrogen fuel cell technology is part of a long game being played by manufacturers that have gained huge experience in it over the years.

Stellantis (specifically, Opel) has been on the case for more than 20 years. Opel’s previous owner, General Motors, developed one of the first hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, the Electrovan, in 1966.

In 2000 Opel showed the Zafira HydroGen1, which relied on liquid hydrogen storage. In those early days, the focus was on trying to develop fuel cell systems that could provide similar transient response to a combustion engine.

Hydrogen fuel cells are at their best delivering a steady stream of electrical energy and are less ideal at providing sudden increases in power.

But early on in their development, the aim was to avoid the extra cost and complexity of a hybrid battery or ultra-capacitor to provide the boost needed for acceleration or pulling away.

Eventually, and as battery development also evolved, the obvious approach was to combine the two technologies.

After the HydroGen1 came the HydroGen2 and 3 versions. Then the GM/Opel HydroGen4 was first shown at the Frankfurt show in 2007 based on the Chevrolet Equinox SUV.

By then, technology had matured to a similar level to that seen today, with a fuel cell system plus battery, and 700 bar compressed hydrogen storage. 

While the focus of fuel cell technology today has shifted towards heavy trucks, Stellantis claims to have been the first to bring mid-size vans to production.

From there, it would be only a short hop back to passenger cars once commercial vehicles have paved the way to develop a hydrogen filling station network.