Renault Kangoo ZE with Symbio FCell Rolls Out

In France, 5 plug-in hybrid fuel cell Renault Kangoo ZE vehicles have rolled out as part of a rapid launch project aimed at deploying 40 such vehicles. They are calling the fuel cell part of these vehicles “range extenders.”

According to the press release on BusinessWire, “Today Symbio FCell announces the launch of five first new hydrogen powered Light Commercial Vehicles equipped with the Symbio FCell Range-Extender, as part of a venture directed by the Conseil Général de la Manche, whose ambition is to pioneer the green hydrogen production and distribution in France. La Manche indeed counts amongst the first departments in France to own a hydrogen filling station (active in Saint Lo) and five plug-in hybrid battery fuel cell light vehicles. Furthermore, it has an important potential for low-carbon electricity production, based on marine renewable energies (hydrokinetic and offshore wind) and nuclear.

“The Conseil Général de la Manche aims to put on the road a total of forty hydrogen-powered Renault Kangoo ZE utility vehicles equiped with the Symbio FCell Range-Extender. This technology recharges the battery when it drops below a certain level and permits the vehicle to be refueled with 1.8kg of hydrogen, 1kg of which powers a distance of over 100km; the range-extender therefore almost doubles the daily range of battery powered vehicles, a significant improvement that makes hydrogen-powered electric vehicles more competitive in the automotive markets.”

Symbio FCell believes that adding a hydrogen fuel to the vehicles will do things including first extending the range of the vehicles over battery electric vehicles and second, reducing the need for a large EV charging infrastructure.