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French company modifies electric Renault Zoe and transforms it into a car powered by hydrogen and manure with a range that can go from 385 km to more than 2.000 km.
Um Renault Zoe, fully electric, was modified with a fuel cell powered by hydrogen and biomass, had its factory autonomy quintupled, breaking a world record greater than 2 km. The feat was performed by the company ARM Engineering last Wednesday (11), at the Albi circuit, in France. The electric car chosen, the Renault Zoe, had an autonomy of almost 400 and received improvements to complete a journey of 2.055,68 km without the need to refuel.
Understand how the car powered by hydrogen and manure works
To reach such a distance and break several records, the car powered by hydrogen and manure used a full battery charge and a tank with 200 liters of G-H3, a biofuel generated from hydrogen and manure, which fed a fuel cell to generate electricity.
The process, carried out by the French company, allows the biofuel to be used to reform hydrogen and thus develop energy to feed the battery, according to Marc Lambec, president of ARM Engineering.
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To make this possible, five drivers took turns at the wheel of the manure-powered car on the Albi circuit for about three days, from 7 am to midnight, to break the distance record of 1.360 km that belonged to a Toyota Mirai, in the United States.
The mechanism can also be adapted to cars with an internal combustion engine, such as vehicles powered by fuels such as alcohol and gasoline. In a thermal vehicle, the device allows 80% of pollutant emissions such as carbon dioxide, for example, to be reduced.
Learn more about the G-H3
To break the record of more than 2 km of autonomy, around 580 consecutive laps were completed on the 3.565-meter track. For comparison purposes, a Formula 1 GP, which lasts about 1h 30 min, is just over 300 km long.
On the other hand, a long-term race, such as Le Mans, which last 24 hours, reaches 5 km. The G-H3 used in the car powered by manure goes through a reformer, where the hydrogen is extracted after turning it into electricity.
This biofuel used is a kind of methanol synthetic obtained through the anaerobic digestion of non-food biomass, such as plant residues and manure. In a reformer present in the fuel cell, CO2 and hydrogen are converted through the electrolysis of water.
Renault announces new hydrogen-powered concept car
At the same time that a modified vehicle broke records in France, the automaker itself announced a hydrogen-powered concept car, which will be revealed this Thursday (19). The Frenchwoman claims that the model will be made from 70% recycled materials and 95% from recyclable materials.
The hydrogen car features a dashboard with a multi-screen layout, elongated back seats and different textures on the steering wheel. On the outside, the model features the illuminated Renault logo and other details. For now, there is not much information about the vehicle, but it is already possible to see that the front is composed of a split headlight and a hood with a design with many details.
The automaker also did not confirm whether the vehicle is an SUV or hatchback and the French will display the model at the Change NOW event, which will take place in Paris, France, between the 19th and 21st of this month.
