PSA Peugeot Citroën Introduces Fuel Cell Battery Hybrid with 500 Kilometer Range, Mass Production Seen in 2020-2025

PSA Peugeot Citroën has increased the range of electric vehicles with its latest rechargeable fuel cell hybrid demonstrator. Lithium batteries and fuel cells used in electric vehicles are enabled by nanomaterials.

PSA Peugeot Citroën presented a demonstrator equipped with rechargeable fuel cell technology for hybrids at the “Toute la lumière sur l’hydrogène énergie” show in Lyon, France, from December 7 to 11. The event was designed to showcase hydrogen as a fuel source. This fully electric vehicle, based on a Peugeot 307 coupe cabriolet, features the latest advances in fuel cell, battery and hydrogen storage technology.

Thanks to its hydrogen fuel cell range extender, the EV demonstrator has a driving range of 500 kilometers, close to that offered by a current-model vehicle with an internal combustion engine.

The FiSyPAC fuel cell reliability project initiated in 2006 primarily focused on designing high performance, high efficiency components. Significant advances were made through collaboration with French research laboratories, such as the French Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) for the fuel cell stack, and manufacturer partners, such as JCS for the lithium-ion batteries.

As a result, the Peugeot 307 CC FiSyPAC demonstrator ranks among the world’s top performers, needing less than one kilogram of hydrogen per 100 kilometers. PSA Peugeot Citroën has also successfully quadrupled the fuel cell’s lifespan and increased its efficiency by nearly 20% since 2006.

Although considerable, these advances still run up against a number of roadblocks, including the cost of the fuel cell system and the lithium ion batteries, the fuel cell’s lifespan and the deployment of the necessary infrastructure to market hydrogen to the general public. Given this situation, process engineering and mass marketing would seem foreseeable as from 2020-2025.

This fundamental research work on fuel cells for hybrids is helping PSA Peugeot Citroën advance in hydrogen technology and increase its understanding of alternative powertrains, including hybrid, rechargeable hybrid and electric configurations.

This knowledge will be applied to various projects currently being developed at PSA Peugeot Citroën, chief among them the Peugeot Ion and Citroën C-Zero EVs to be introduced in late 2010, the Peugeot 3008 and Citroën DS5 diesel hybrids scheduled for roll-out in 2011 and the rechargeable diesel hybrid slated for 2012.

SA Peugeot Citroën has already sold more than 10,000 electric vehicles. The Group is building on this expertise to develop hybrid vehicles. Studies are focused on two types of hybridization (combining an electric motor with a combustion engine).

In the city, vehicles are at a standstill with the engine running around 30% of the time. Based on this observation, PSA Peugeot Citroën introduced a first level of hybridization, the Stop & Start system (STT), on vehicles such as the Citroën C2 and C3. This technology cuts the engine and restarts it again in a split second, reducing fuel consumption in the city by up to 15%. This technology will be rolled out massively in Peugeot and Citroën ranges from 2010.

The Group will go further in 2011 with HYbrid4 technology. This new diesel hybrid architecture, presented on the Peugeot Prologue and Citroën Hypnos at the 2008 Paris Motor Show, is eth continuation of the HDi hybrid research program presented on two demonstration vehicles, the 307 and C4 Hybrid HDi in early 2006. HYbrid4 optimizes the diesel hybrid powertrain and also boasts an all-new four-wheel drive mode, bringing more value to the additional cost of the hybrid. This technology can be applied to different range levels. But given its extra cost, it will be available initially on the Group’s distinctive and premium mid- and upper-range models.

HYbrid4 technology combines a 2-litre HDi diesel engine fitted with a particulate filter (DPFS), and a high-voltage Stop & Start system, together with an electric motor on the rear axle, a power inverter, high-voltage batteries and a dedicated electronic control unit. Transmission is via an automated manual gearbox.

Average fuel consumption for a mid-sized crossover vehicle equipped with HYbrid4, like the Peugeot Prologue, will be roughly 4.1 l/100 km (diesel), with CO2 emissions at a low 109 g/km, equivalent to those of a Peugeot 107. This is a remarkable figure for a vehicle of this size, 25% lower than that of a similar vehicle equipped with a petrol hybrid powertrain. PSA Peugeot Citroën will market Hybrid4 technology from 2011 on Peugeot and Citroën vehicles.

In the longer term, the automotive industry could also be changed by the fuel cell. PSA Peugeot Citroën is working actively on this technology and has already developed several demonstration vehicles, including the Taxi PAC, H20, Quark, H2Origin, 307 Fisypac, etc.

Developed in partnership with the French Atomic Energy Commission (CEA), the GENEPAC fuel cell presented by the Group in 2006 is a prime example of this technology. By 2010, it could enable vehicles to run on hydrogen that generates electricity and gives off water.

PSA Peugeot Citroën has set up research facilities for fuel cells. In 2006, it introduced a fuel cell unit at the Carrières-sous-Poissy research centre. This unit is 100% dedicated to the study of fuel cells, associated technologies and drivetrains based on fuel cells and fitting a fuel cell powertrain on a vehicle.

PSA Peugeot Citroën presented the Peugeot Partner H2Origin in 2008 in partnership with Intelligent Energy, demonstrating all the Group’s expertise in integrating a fuel cell able to ensure ignition at very low temperatures. PSA Peugeot Citroën is set to take another step forward in range and driving pleasure on zero-emission vehicles, presenting in early 2009 a Peugeot 307 CC fuel cell demonstration vehicle, storing hydrogen at 700 bars and equipped with a lithium-ion battery for extra-long range.

Find out more about Stop & Start: watch the video
Find out more about the Hybrid4 : watch the video