Renault seems to want to sell a car with a ‘hydrogen engine’, which the company probably refers to a car with a hydrogen combustion engine. Toyota, among others, is also experimenting with this, but cars with these engines are not yet sold.
The carmaker has shared a teaser of a new concept car, which will get ‘a hydrogen engine’. Since the company consistently refers to an engine, it does not appear to be a hydrogen electric car, but a car with a hydrogen combustion engine. Such an internal combustion engine shares a lot of technology with a petrol engine, but uses hydrogen as an energy source instead of petrol.
Renault does not share any details about the car yet, but says it wants to unveil the concept in May. According to Autocar, among others, Renault CEO Luca de Meo said that the new car will be more than just a concept car. “When we make a concept, we want to turn it into a real car.” In addition to hydrogen, the car may also be available with an electric drive, according to De Meo’s words.
Earlier this year, Renault said it wanted to sell only fully electric cars in Europe from 2030. This seems to rule out the possibility that Renault would want to sell the hydrogen-powered car in Europe, unless the hydrogen engine acts as a range extender. Toyota is also working on hydrogen combustion engines and earlier this week showed a V8 combustion engine that runs on hydrogen. Toyota is collaborating with Yamaha for this engine.
A hydrogen combustion engine is different from a hydrogen electric car. In the latter, hydrogen is combined with oxygen in a fuel cell, releasing energy. This energy is stored in a small battery or used directly for the electric motors. A hydrogen combustion engine is usually used to drive the wheels directly, like a gasoline engine. Toyota and Hyundai are now selling hydrogen-electric cars: the Mirai and the Nexo. Renault sells hydrogen-electric delivery and passenger buses.
Renault concept car with hydrogen engine