The period of hydrogen-powered vans has begun at Stellantis, which is beginning restricted manufacturing of medium business vans from Peugeot, Citroen, Opel.

Peugeot will ship its first e-Professional Hydrogen van to Watea, a subsidiary of the Michelin group, the model mentioned Wednesday. Citroen will present e-Jumpy Hydrogen vans to power supplier Suez, and Opel’s first Vivaro-e Hydrogen fashions might be within the fingers of equipment maker Miele.

The vans are primarily based on full-electric variations, and use a “mid energy” hybrid powertrain that may ship 400 km (250 miles) of zero-emission vary on the WLTP cycle with out having to spend hours recharging batteries, the manufacturers mentioned. 

On the coronary heart of the powertrain is a ten.5 kilowatt-hour battery, which might be recharged conventionally with a plug, providing 50 km of vary. This vary is included within the 400k m complete determine.

However its major supply of cost is a 45-kilowatt gasoline cell with a 4.4-kg tank that may be refueled in three minutes. 

The manufacturers say the hydrogen powertrain doesn’t have an effect on cargo capability, which is 5.3 cubic meters for a shorter model and 6.1 cubic meters for an extended model. The vans have a payload of about 1,000 kg.

The vans might be assembled at Stellantis’ Sevel Nord plant in France, then transformed to hydrogen energy on the group’s middle for hydrogen experience in Ruesselsheim, Germany.

The manufacturers haven’t revealed costs for the hydrogen variations of the vans.

Stellantis, nonetheless, isn’t the one automaker launching hydrogen vans on the European market. Renault has supplied hydrogen variations of the small Kangoo and enormous Grasp vans, and plans a hydrogen model of its midsize Trafic as a part of its Hyvia three way partnership with Plug Energy.

Hydrogen energy has been promoted as a zero-emissions different to battery-electric automobiles, however an absence of fueling infrastructure, the price of the powertrain and considerations about hydrogen extraction have largely sidelined the expertise thus far.

In presenting the three vans earlier this yr, Stellantis mentioned Germany has about 90 hydrogen refueling stations and France simply 25.

Most analysts and even automakers now say that the primary widespread use of hydrogen gasoline cell expertise might be in business automobiles, which journey an outlined route every day and might return to a depot for refueling, overcoming among the infrastructure limitations.