Hydrogen project puts 100 electric vehicles on roads in Europe

The first 100 fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) have been deployed in Germany, France and the UK by Hydrogen Mobility Europe (H2ME).

H2ME, a project which aims to demonstrate that hydrogen can support future transport needs in Europe, brings together eight countries to look at making the hydrogen mobility sector ready for the market.

As part of this, they have just announced that 60 of Symbio’s Renault Kangoo ZE-H2 range-extended fuel cell vans are now on the roads in the UK and France, which supports the development of hydrogen fuelling stations.

They are powered by a compact 5KW cell module with a hydrogen storage unit and automotive battery pack. Its range-extender kit doubles the range of the Renault electric Kangoo ZE model which is about 200 miles.

In addition to this, 40 B-Class F-CELL vehicles under the project group have been deployed in Germany by Daimler. They have a high-pressure fuel-tank system and 700-bar, giving it a range of about 250 miles, which can be refuelled in under three minutes.

It combines local emission-free mobility with day-to-day suitability and good performance figures.

These models have been welcomed by the logistics and delivery company CETUP and are now an addition to the fleet.

The H2ME project plans to deploy next-generation FCEVs in the coming years, which includes: Symbio’s fuel cell range-extender electric vehicle vans and fuel cell range-extended trucks.

More than 1,400 FCEVs are set to be deployed in Europe through the project as they aim to increase the numbers of these vehicles operating, in order to build on the networks of hydrogen fuelling stations.