Opel begins production and deliveries of hydrogen Vivaro van
11 December 2021
Opel has begun production of the hydrogen fuel cell variant of the Vivaro van, and has delievered the first one to the German manufacturer of premium domestic appliances, Miele. The hydrogen fuel cell vehicle will perform daily field service in the Rhine-Main region.
The new Vivaro-e HYDROGEN perfectly meets the requirements of fleet customers. The hydrogen van is the ideal solution for driving long distances with zero emissions as well as for transporting larger loads without losing time while charging the batteries. The Opel Vivaro-e HYDROGEN leads zero-emissions mobility into the future, especially for commercial use.
—Head of Development Marcus Lott
The Vivaro-e HYDROGEN is based on the existing battery electric Opel Vivaro-e, the “2021 International Van of the Year”. With full tanks of hydrogen, the driving range is more than 400 kilometers (WLTP1). The 45 kW fuel cell is capable of generating enough power for continuous highway driving. It takes only three minutes to refuel with hydrogen —about the same time needed to fill up a conventional diesel or gasoline vehicle.
The 10.5 kWh lithium-ion battery provides dynamic peak power when required, for example, at start-up and under acceleration. Since the battery covers power needs in such situations, the fuel cell can run at optimum operating conditions.
The battery also enables regenerative braking, while the plug-in capability offers the opportunity to recharge the battery externally if necessary, e.g. at a charging station, providing 50 km of pure battery electric range. The Vivaro-e HYDROGEN features a three-phase on-board charger (11 kW) and a mode 2 charging cable as standard.
The Vivaro-e HYDROGEN demands no compromises on space compared to the combustion engine versions, offering up to 5.3 or 6.1 cubic meters of cargo volume. The fuel cell electric LCV is available in lengths M and L (4.95 and 5.30 metres) with up to 1,000 kilograms of payload.
Like its battery-electric sibling and those with internal combustion engines, the Vivaro-e HYDROGEN offers a wide range of driver assistance systems that enhance safety. The equipment includes a 180-degree panorama rear view camera, blind-spot alert and front/rear park pilot.
The Multimedia Navi Pro infotainment system operates via voice recognition or colour touchscreen and is compatible with both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The navigation system offers maps for Europe, dynamic route guidance and TMC. Users can also cool or heat the vehicle during recharging via “OpelConnect” and program charging times with the “myOpel” app.
The new Vivaro-e HYDROGEN benefits from more than 20 years of experience in the development of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles at Opel and Stellantis. Production takes place at Opel Special Vehicles (OSV) in Rüsselsheim.
It will be interesting to see how the sales of the hydrogen fuel cell Opel Vivaro-e HYDROGEN stack up against the battery electric Opel Vivaro-e. The cost of operating the battery electric Opel Vivaro-e is projected to be 2.1p versus 10.3p for the diesel version. I did not find any information on the projected cost of fuel cell version but I would expect that it is more than the diesel. Obviously, it would depend on the cost of hydrogen and how the hydrogen is produced.
Posted by: sd | 11 December 2021 at 07:47 PM
Congratulations OPEL with the small series production of the Vivaro-e HYDROGEN. The key to success will be the leasing rate and the H2 filling station network for nationwide deployments. You start small and then you can improve. Good this way! I see the costs per km in the background, because ICE, PHEV or BEV also have very different costs depending on the area of application.
Good luck OPEL!
Info: Toyota and Hyundai also produce H2 cars but not delivery vans.
Posted by: Herman | 12 December 2021 at 01:15 AM
@sd The cost of hydrogen will decrease over time.
Posted by: pdd | 12 December 2021 at 06:53 AM
@ pdd
The cost of "green" hydrogen may go down some but I think that overall the cost of hydrogen will go up in the short term if you want clean hydrogen as the energy cost of making "green" hydrogen is much higher than "gray" hydrogen and going "blue" is more costly than "gray". Also, the "blue" hydrogen is mostly a big oil scam. I think that only way clean hydrogen will come down in price is to use high temperature chemical processes using high temperature fast nuclear reactors but that is at least a decade in the future.
Posted by: sd | 12 December 2021 at 09:39 AM
Storing carbon while making hydrogen from RNG is easy
Posted by: SJC | 13 December 2021 at 04:58 PM