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Fiat Siena converted by UFSM researchers shows how hydrogen can be used in an internal combustion engine, preserving part of the vehicle’s original structure and opening a research front on low-emission mobility in Brazil.
The Federal University of Santa Maria presented the first hydrogen-powered internal combustion vehicle in Brazil, a Fiat Siena converted in the Engine Laboratory of the institution’s Technology Center, in a project conducted by GPMOT and linked to low-emission automotive research.
The automobile does not use water as fuel.
The technology applied in the Siena uses hydrogen in an internal combustion engine, while water or steam appears as a byproduct in the exhaust, significantly reducing emissions associated with the use of gasoline, ethanol, or diesel.
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The conversion is part of the graduation project of Augusto Graziadei Folletto, a Mechanical Engineering student at UFSM.
The project, titled “Adaptation and calibration of an internal combustion vehicle using hydrogen as fuel,” was supervised by Professor Mario Martins and co-supervised by Professor Thompson Lanzanova.
Hydrogen-powered Fiat Siena maintains original engine and reduces emissions
The chosen model was a Fiat Siena, a vehicle already known in the Brazilian market and used as a basis to demonstrate a technical possibility: adapting existing cars to operate with fuels of lower environmental impact, without fully replacing the original mechanical set.
According to UFSM, the car preserves the factory characteristics but now uses hydrogen as an energy source.
This type of adaptation, called retrofitting, seeks to extend the useful life of vehicles already in circulation and test transition solutions for a fleet less dependent on fossil fuels.
The proposal differs from fuel cell cars, which convert hydrogen into electricity to power electric motors.
In the case of the Siena, hydrogen is burned directly in the internal combustion engine, in a line of research focused on applying the fuel in conventional engines.
For the university, the result shows that it is possible to achieve a propulsion system with emissions of pollutants considered virtually zero.
In practice, the environmental gain depends on the origin of the hydrogen, as the fuel only becomes cleaner throughout the cycle when produced from renewable sources.
UFSM Automotive Research Joins the Rota 2030 Program
The initiative is part of the Rota 2030 Program – Mobility and Logistics, a federal policy aimed at technological development and innovation in the automotive sector.
The converted vehicle brings together results from different research fronts of the UFSM Engines, Fuels, and Emissions Research Group.
The work received funding from institutions such as CNPq, Finep, and Fapergs, in addition to support from the project “Development of an Automotive Engine Powered by Biohydrogen for the Brazilian Market,” funded by Public Call No. 3/2021 of Rota 2030, through Fundep.
Companies from the automotive and technology sectors, such as Marelli, TCA-Horiba, and FuelTech, also participate in the initiative.
FuelTech collaborated with technical support and provided the engine control system, an essential step to adapt the vehicle’s calibration to the use of hydrogen.
The biohydrogen project is coordinated by Professor Nina Paula Gonçalves Salau from the Department of Chemical Engineering, with participation from researchers linked to Mechanical Engineering.
The integration between different areas helps connect fuel production, electronic control, engine testing, and emissions evaluation.
Green Hydrogen Still Depends on Production and Supply
Professor Mario Martins assesses that hydrogen produced from renewable sources, known as green hydrogen, can become an important alternative to fossil fuels.
Even so, large-scale application depends on advances in production, storage, and distribution.
“Large-scale adoption mainly depends on the expansion of hydrogen production, storage, and distribution network,” said Mario, commenting on the challenges for vehicles powered by this fuel to reach the market with greater presence.
According to the researcher, hydrogen vehicles may become more common between 2030 and 2040, following the expansion of the so-called hydrogen economy.
This growth tends to start with industrial sectors, heavy transport, and power generation before advancing more strongly in light transport.
There are still significant limitations for everyday use in passenger cars.
Hydrogen requires a specific refueling infrastructure, safety precautions, and competitive production costs, factors that still restrict its adoption on a commercial scale in Brazil and other markets.
Shell Eco-marathon in Rio Brings Together Student Prototypes
In the national scenario, the Shell Eco-marathon Brazil 2025, held in Rio de Janeiro, brought together university teams in an international energy efficiency competition.
The competition included hydrogen-powered vehicles, as well as categories with electric battery and internal combustion.
The competition hosted about 500 students from different regions of Brazil and Latin American countries.
In the hydrogen category, the projects use fuel cells and aim to cover the greatest distance possible with the least energy consumption.
The Federal University of Paraná won the “Hydrogen Prototype” category with the Sirius vehicle, developed by the Eco Octano team.
The prototype traveled 132 kilometers per cubic meter of hydrogen, a performance that secured first place in the competition held in Rio.
In the case of the Fiat Siena converted by UFSM, there is no confirmed public information about the vehicle’s registration or participation in the Shell Eco-marathon Brazil 2025.
The available information points to the Siena as a technological demonstrator of internal combustion with hydrogen, and not as an officially announced prototype for the competition.
Hydrogen engines advance in research in Brazil
After the conversion of the Siena, the group intends to advance to more modern models.
The idea is to test the feasibility of adaptation in vehicles with recent technologies, expanding knowledge on calibration, performance, safety, and emissions in hydrogen-powered engines.
The research adds to other initiatives of the UFSM Technology Center aimed at energy transition.
Among them are the Bombaja H2, a hydrogen prototype competition team, and studies on fuel cells for electricity generation.
The work of GPMOT reinforces the connection between university, industry, and public innovation policies.
By testing hydrogen, biofuels, and clean combustion, the group produces technical data that can guide future solutions for low-carbon mobility in Brazil.
The presentation of the Siena highlights UFSM in a strategic area, but still in development.
The project demonstrates a real application of hydrogen in a conventional engine, while the next tests should indicate how far the technology can advance outside the research environment.
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