As promised
‘Renault Master Van H2-Tech with fuel cell will come next year’, was the headline on October 14, 2021. We look at the calendar and sure enough: exactly one year later we have the production version of this Renault Master on hydrogen.
The Renault Master Van H2-Tech is the closed delivery version of the Renault Master on hydrogen. More versions will follow later, but this is the first production variant. That does not immediately mean that you can run to the dealer to order one, but it does mean that the hydrogen Master is on the road to a limited extent. The car is used by a number of selected partners, in both France and Germany. They will undoubtedly discover the advantages and disadvantages of this concept and pass them on to Renault and Hyvia and Plug Power, the hydrogen experts with whom Renault is collaborating on this project.
The Master Van H2-Tech can therefore be found on the Hyvia stand at the Paris motor show. The hydrogen tanks of the special Master can store a total of 6.4 kg under a pressure of 700 bar. Unlike usual, they are not in the floor, but in the raised roof, which explains the somewhat remarkable shape of this roof. It is not yet known where the developers will hide the tanks in future ‘Chassis Cab’ variants, ie without a long and high roof. The fuel cell is also at the top, the electric motor of course in the front.
That electric motor is borrowed from the regular electric Renault Master. This means that the hydrogen version does not yet deliver 80 hp and will be far from fast. Interesting: the H2-Tech also has the battery pack of the electric Master, albeit the old, previous variant. With 33 kWh, however, it can also handle electricity from a regular charging station, which can be very nice if there is no hydrogen station nearby. The Master H2-Tech is thus in fact a plug-in hybrid, but with both battery-electric and hydrogen-electric drive. Exactly: just like the (smaller) hydrogen buses from competitor Stellantis.
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– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl