PARIS – The debate over hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles rages on, and Renault Group just added some fuel to the fire. The auto maker’s Hyvia electric vehicle venture is kicking into high gear with an initial delivery of 50 hydrogen fuel cell vans to the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region this year, towards a near-term goal of 400 light-duty and 80 heavy-duty fuel cell vehicles. The later-term goal is 1,000 vehicles in all, which leads to the question: Where’s the hydrogen?
The answer is easy. The hydrogen is already on its way. The Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region is the host of the Zero Emission Valley project, which is billed as “the largest renewable hydrogen-driven mobility project in France.”
The project is supported by a public-private hydrogen infrastructure venture called Hympulsion, formed in 2019 under an agreement between the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regional council, Michelin, and the leading energy firm ENGIE, with support from the Banque des Territoires and the Crédit Agricole and EU funding, too.
If you caught that thing about “renewable hydrogen,” that is a key point. The primary source of the global hydrogen supply is natural gas along with gasified coal, neither of which is renewable.
Hympulsion is working on a different track, consisting of green hydrogen produced from water in electrolyzer systems. Green hydrogen is a new industry and it currently accounts for a negligible fraction of the hydrogen market. However, in recent years it has been growing in all directions as the cost of renewable energy and electrolysis systems continues to drop (see more CleanTechnica green hydrogen coverage here).
The Hympulsion website notes that the infrastructure plan for Zero Emission Valley includes 11 electrolyzer systems capable of producing enough green hydrogen for up to 1,100 light-duty commercial hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. The company also lists a goal of 18 distribution stations on its website, though a Renault press release mentions 15 fueling stations.
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