The Suez Group has been conducting real-world tests of the Citroën ë-Jumpy Hydrogen van at its site in Carcassonne, France. The same site has its own green hydrogen production station.
At the moment, the foremen at the Carcassonne site use the ë-Jumpy Hydrogen exclusively for their daily activities. Their role is multi-faceted: site visits, replenishing supplies of small and large equipment, and emergency repair work in the event of a water leak. They also regularly make journeys of more than 100 kilometers, a long distance that can be covered several times over with the ë-Jumpy Hydrogen’s 248-kilometer range.
Green hydrogen technology enables optimum practicality and a wide range of usage needs thanks to fast refueling times that ensure the vehicles are almost permanently operational. So much so that a full refueling takes only 6 minutes with a 350 bar dispenser.
Hybrid electric-green hydrogen technology
The reason is that the 10.5 kWh battery is very easy to charge at a standard 230 V socket. In addition, it provides 31 miles of backup power in case the hydrogen tanks run out.
What sets Citroën ë-Jumpy Hydrogen apart is that it uses hybrid electric-hydrogen technology, offering a new solution in the mobility space. It complements the development of purely electric versions. In addition, hydrogen technology is less sensitive to heavy loads, driving speed, and weather conditions.
Furthermore, it combines a lithium-ion battery with a fuel cell connected to hydrogen tanks. When hydrogen and air come into contact with a catalyst, the fuel cell generates electricity to power an electric motor. The only emission is water vapor. Compared to a battery, the fuel cell is considered more of an energy converter than a storage device.
The hybrid solution was chosen by Citroën following research conducted in collaboration with Symbio, a joint venture specializing in fuel cells created by Michelin and Faurecia. This means that the Citroën ë-Jumpy Hydrogen benefits from a 10.5 kWh lithium-ion battery and a 45 kW fuel cell. This in turn is powered by three 700 bar hydrogen tanks, developed by Faurecia, with a storage capacity of up to 4.4kg of renewable hydrogen.
On the one hand, hydrogen provides the energy needed for a longer range, while the medium-capacity battery combines power and performance with energy recovery and rechargeability.
In addition, hybrid technology also means that the battery provides backup power when the hydrogen tanks are empty, which means drivers reduce the risks of “running dry”.
Renewable hydrogen sector forecasts for 2025
By 2055, 450,000 light commercial vehicles and 10,000 trucks in Europe are expected to run on hydrogen. To meet the expected demand, the network of refueling stations would have to be expanded to include 10,000 refueling points.
430 billion is likely to be invested by industrial companies in the sector over the next 10 years, with subsidies from Europe and the Member States accounting for around 25% of the total. Also, the number of hydrogen refueling stations will increase from 133 in 2021 to 2,500 in 2030, including 1,000 in France and 1,000 in Germany. In the same period, the price per kilo of hydrogen could be halved.
The challenge in terms of energy transition is to develop the production of renewable green hydrogen by electrolysis of water using electricity from wind, solar energy, or biogas.
The Suez Group, in partnership with Siperrec, is developing a project to create the first plant for the production and distribution of green hydrogen (electricity produced from the combustion of household waste transformed into hydrogen through a water electrolysis process) at an Energy Recovery Unit in Créteil (France). The plant should be operational by the end of 2022 and should be capable of producing up to 1 tonne of hydrogen per day, thus avoiding the emission of 1,300 tonnes of CO2 per year.