Renault teases hydrogen concept | FOS Future Lab
For all those who think lithium-ion battery power is ultimately on the road to nowhere and the only solution to automotive power long-term is hydrogen, there is good news today – from Renault. The French giant is going to unveil a new model concept in May and it will be powered by hydrogen.
Judging from the first teaser picture released today, the as-yet unnamed newcomer will sport a new look for a Renault with an especially distinctive light signature. But it’s under the bonnet where it promises to be most distinctive.
Renault says it will be powered by a “hydrogen engine”, implying a reciprocating motor that just happens to be fuelled by hydrogen rather than petrol. There’s nothing new about that but in the past, the idea has been stymied by safety concerns to do with storing large quantities of the gas under very high pressure. An advantage is you can use the existing filling station infrastructure to dispense the stuff.
Hydrogen power these days usually means a fuel-cell electric vehicle that converts the gas into electricity via electrolysis, with the only waste being water. Fuel cell cars in production – such as the Toyota Mirai, Hyundai Nexo and Honda Clarity – tend to be expensive and are yet to take off in a big way.
But now Renault says its hydrogen-engined newcomer is the way forward, and will embody “on-board technological innovations for the safety of driver and users”. Renault uses concepts as precursors of production models so the expectation is it will appear in showrooms – and sooner rather than later because Renault has committed to making only electric cars by 2030.
We will know more when the Gilles Vidal-designed machine is unveiled in a couple of months’ time.
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