Renault: French announce concept car with hydrogen drive

Created: 02/22/2022, 10:33 am

By: Sebastian Oppenheimer

The automotive future currently seems to be purely battery-electric.

Maybe that will change soon - because Renault also wants to present a hydrogen car.

Boulogne-Billancourt (France) – At least for most brands in the VW Group, the orientation is clear: Volkswagen boss Herbert Diess (63) is an advocate of electromobility.

Some other car manufacturers have also taken this path.

Fuel cell drives such as in the Toyota Mirai or Hyundai Nexo, on the other hand, are currently still exotic.

Nevertheless, some manufacturers obviously believe in the success of the technology - for example, Yamaha developed a hydrogen V8 engine for Toyota.

There are similar projects at Deutz AG and at the manufacturer Punch Hydrocells.

Now a French manufacturer is apparently jumping on the bandwagon, as reported by 24auto.de.

Renault: French announce concept car with hydrogen drive

As Renault has now announced, they want to present a concept vehicle that runs on hydrogen at the end of May.

The French have published a first photo on which not much can be seen yet.

The car manufacturer says that the car is equipped with a "hydrogen engine" - i.e. a hydrogen (combustion) engine.

Presumably Renault relies on a combustion concept - and not on a fuel cell.

Or maybe yes?

Renault gives a first glimpse of a hydrogen concept car to be presented in May 2020.

©Renault

Renault's hydrogen concept car also relies on recycling

According to Renault, the concept car is part of the company's recently announced goal of realizing a 100 percent electric vehicle range by 2030.

This sentence would rather speak for a fuel cell that converts hydrogen into electrical energy.

Currently, the scarcely existing infrastructure speaks against hydrogen as a fuel.

Some see hydrogen propulsion in heavy trucks rather than in light cars.

The French have not yet given any more detailed information on the technology used in the study.

However, the still unnamed vehicle is intended to contribute to the circular economy by using recycled and recyclable materials.

Another focus of the study should be on passenger safety and easy access to the interior.