Renault Made a Hydrogen Wagon With a Rechargeable Battery

Renault wants to be carbon neutral in Europe by 2040 and all over the world just 10 years later. To get there, it's doubling down on battery-powered electric vehicles while insisting there's still a future for hydrogen cars. Dubbed as a demo car, the Emblème is actually both. Much like the new Honda CR-V e:FCEV, it combines a hydrogen fuel cell with a rechargeable battery pack.

The French marque calls it a shooting brake although some would argue it has too many doors. Body style aside, the Emblème is an aero-driven concept with a drag coefficient of only 0.25. It looks substantially different than the regular production models and we're hoping some of its design cues will rub off on road-going vehicles. The Emblème is large for a concept described as a compact car, at 189 inches (4.8 meters) long but only 59.9 inches (1.52 meters) tall, giving it a sleek profile.

Renault claims the Emblème can cover up to 621 miles (1,000 kilometers) "as rapidly as an ICE vehicle." That quote assumes two stops to juice up the 2.8-kilogram hydrogen tank, provided you'll find refueling stations considering there were roughly 1,000 globally at the end of last year. Each stop takes less than five minutes and a full tank lasts for 217 miles (350 kilometers). In town, the low-slung wagon behaves like a battery-powered EV courtesy of a 40-kWh nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) pack.

Doing the math, a full battery charge should last for 187 miles (300 kilometers) considering that by making two stops for hydrogen, a driver can cover 434 miles (700 kilometers). The Emblème is rear-wheel drive by featuring a 215-horsepower motor mounted at the back. This wound-rotor electric motor doesn't use any rare earths.

Although it has a complex powertrain, the Emblème is not as heavy as most traditional hybrids or EVs. Renault touts a curb weight of 3,858 pounds (1,750 kilograms) after the engineers "hunted down every superfluous kilogram." All these efforts have been made to ensure the striking wagon is as much eco-friendly as possible. Emissions "from the cradle to the grave" were slashed by 90% compared to similarly sized car.

The concept car will be publicly displayed at the 2024 Paris Motor Show between October 14-20 when we're hoping to see the interior as well.