Auto Zürich: Opel shows van with hydrogen drive 🎥
ZERO EMISSION Opel is converting the mid-sized Vivaro-e electric van into a hydrogen fuel cell van. The zero-emission commercial vehicle will arrive in Switzerland at the end of 2023 and can be seen at Auto Zürich until Sunday.
The powertrain consists of a 10.5-kWh lithium-ion battery that can be charged in 90 minutes via a wallbox, a 45-kW fuel cell and tanks for 4.4 kilograms of usable hydrogen.
According to WLTP, the total range is 400 kilometers, with the hydrogen being sufficient for about 350 kilometers and the remaining 50 kilometers being covered by the initially fully charged battery.
Instead of a battery, there are three hydrogen tanks
The battery then supplies energy primarily during starting and acceleration (system power up to 100 kW), thus enabling good energy recovery.
The hydrogen fuel cell van is based on the Vivaro-e. The 100 kW electric motor remains the same, the battery under the charging floor is replaced by three hydrogen tanks, and the smaller 10.5 kWh battery finds space under the seats. As with the electric variant, the fuel cell Vivaro has three driving modes and two recuperation stages.
1000 kilogram combined payload and towing capacity
The goal achieved during development was to retain unrestricted cargo space. The combined payload and towing capacity is 1000 kilograms. Because they are based on the same platform, the identically constructed Peugeot e-Expert and Citroën ë-Jumpy will also be converted into hydrogen vehicles in Rüsselsheim. All three models are expected to be offered simultaneously in Switzerland at the end of 2023. Prices and financing models are not yet known.
Development of the drive took place in Germany
Dr. Lars-Peter Thiesen, Opel's Head of Introduction Strategy Hydrogen and Fuel Cell, has accompanied the development of the fuel cell drive in Germany from the very beginning and played a key role in shaping it.
In the video, he explains how the Hydrogen Fuel Cell Van from Stellantis, which is celebrating its Swiss premiere as the Opel Vivaro-e HydroGen at Auto Zürich in Hall 2.0, is constructed and why the mid-power concept was chosen for the H2 transporter.
