Renault Trucks and the French Post Office (“La Poste”) will be introducing, on an experimental basis and as a first in Europe, an electric truck equipped with a fuel-cell range extender.
This 4.5-ton Maxity Electric model now enjoys an autonomy raised to 200 kilometers (124 miles) and for a year will be tested under actual operating conditions in Dole (Jura Department).
The fuel-cell range-extended Maxity Electric was designed with a hydrogen-powered fuel cell, developed by Symbio FCell, that serves to double the vehicle’s autonomy. This field test, scheduled to last a year, will enable Renault Trucks to explore all potential avenues of hydrogen technology under actual operating conditions.
Renault Trucks has configured its 4.5-ton Maxity Electric vehicle to accommodate a fuel cell, with the development and vehicle integration steps being carried out in partnership with the firm Symbio FCell. As a result, Maxity Electric’s average autonomy of approx. 100 kilometers (62 miles) has been bumped up another 100 kilometers thanks to energy supplied by the fuel cell.
Certified and registered by Renault Trucks, Maxity Electric with a fuel-cell range extender will be operated in the city of Dole (France’s Jura Department). Due to this region’s especially harsh winter weather conditions, Dole will serve as the backdrop for the Post Office’s entire experimental fleet.
Technical characteristics:
– Vehicle registered under the N2 category.
– Authorized gross weight: 4.5 tons, certified in France at 3.5 tons + 1 ton, by virtue of special regulations favoring “clean-burning vehicles” (operated with a “B” driver’s license): the extra 1,000 kg has been authorized as a declared additional rated weight, owing to the deployment of a “clean” alternative technology.
– Payload: 1 ton.
– Heating of the cab: heat released by the fuel cell or a CTP type electrical resistance when the cell is idle.
Performance ratings:
– Average autonomy: up to 200 km (100 km contributed by the batteries + 100 km by the cell)
– Maximum speed: 90 km/h (56 mph)
– Robotized transmission
– Asynchronous electric motor: 400 V / 47 kW
– Maximum torque at startup: 270 Nm
Batteries:
– Harvested energy: 42 kWh
– Lithium-ion / iron phosphate technology (Valence Technology)
– 4 battery packs, weighing a total of 400 kg
– Complete recharging time, including battery balancing phase: 7 hours
– Charger embedded in the vehicle, to allow charging on a simple three-phase power socket.
Hydrogen kit:
– Harvested energy: 45 kWh
– Hydrogen cell: 20 kW
– 2 hydrogen tanks, with a 75-liter capacity each, making it possible to store 4 kg of H2 at 350 bar
– Total weight of this kit: 300 kg
– Kit user’s guide included
