The fuel cell idea is nothing new at Stellantis. Under the management of the former US parent company General Motors GM, Opel gained around two decades of experience with hydrogen propulsion – most recently with the Opel Zafira Hydrogen 3.
Now, as a Stellantis subsidiary, Opel can take on the subject of fuel cell technology again. Over the next two years, Opel Special Vehicles (otherwise busy with the conversion to ambulances, fire brigade and police vehicles) builds a small fleet of around 2000 vans that are converted from battery-powered electric drives to fuel cells. “For us, it is not about an either / or”, emphasizes the fuel cell technology manager at Stellantis, Lars-Peter Tiesen, “but about supplementing the electric drive in a sensible way where it suits the customer best. And we’ll see that first in fleet operations. “
Vivaro, Expert and Jumpy are being rebuilt
To make the conversion as easy (and inexpensive) as possible, the Stellantis vans Opel Vivaro, Peugeot Expert and Citroën Jumpy are being converted to hydrogen technology. The vans are not visually recognizable as vehicles with fuel cells. Their technology is hidden in the engine compartment and under the seats. “The three 700 bar fuel cell tanks with a volume of 4.4 cubic meters are located in the same frame where the battery pack is otherwise housed in the underbody,” explains Tiesen. “This does not restrict the volume of the cargo space.”
Stellantis opted for the so-called mid-power concept. This means that the fuel cell is of medium size and is supported by a plug-in module with an additional battery, which is installed under the driver’s bench. The hidden 10.5 kWh battery can be charged at the socket and enables a range of around 50 kilometers. For longer distances, the fuel cell then supplies the electric motor with its 100 kW / 136 PS under the bonnet with energy.
400 kilometers range, 1.1 tons payload
“There is great interest from customers,” says Lars-Peter Tiesen. “Most of them are interested in the short refueling time, which is done in three minutes.” The fuel cell trio Opel Vivaro-e Hydrogen and the two sister models Peugeot Expert and Citroën Jumpy offer a range of 400 kilometers and a top speed of 130 km / h. Commercial fleet customers can choose between the version with a normal wheelbase and 5.3 cubic meters of cargo volume or the XL version with an impressive 6.1 cubic meters. Both have sliding doors on the left and right as well as a payload of 1.1 tonnes and can pull trailers up to one tonne in weight.
You cannot buy the fuel cell vans, you can only lease them for a monthly fee of just under 700 francs. You can’t make money with such a small fleet. But Stellantis primarily wants to collect empirical values and find out whether the fuel cell can, as hoped, be a supplement to the current battery e-drives in the long term. A high level of customer benefit is still offset by the substantial acquisition costs and a barely existing network of petrol stations.
Despite the first vehicles such as the Toyota Mirai, Honda Clarity Fuell Cell or Hyundai iX35 / Nexo, the fuel cell does not seem to gain acceptance in the car sector for the reasons mentioned above. On the other hand, the situation is different for trucks. And that is why the intermediate step by Stellantis with the test with light commercial vehicles is definitely interesting.