BOULOGNE-BILLANCOURT, France: Renault Group and Plug Power, a provider of turnkey hydrogen and fuel cell solutions, have launched their joint venture HYVIA to manufacturer hydrogen-powered delivery vehicles and buses, complemented by a network of charging stations and the supply of green hydrogen.

The first three fuel cell vehicles brought to market by HYVIA by the end of this year will be based on the Renault Master platform and increase vehicle range to 500 kilometres with a recharging time of three minutes.

HYVIA chief executive David Holderbach said the new venture wants to acquire a 30 percent market share of hydrogen-powered light commercials in Europe by 2030.

Company development will be based at existing Renault facilities in France with R&D at Villiers-Saint-Frédéric, 53 kilometres west of Paris; manufacturing and logistics at Flins, north-west of Paris; vehicle production at Renault’s Batilly plant 300 kilometres east of Paris and fuel cell integration at Gretz-Armainvilliers, south-east of the French capital.

“This joint venture integrates the entire hydrogen mobility ecosystem in a unique way, from the vehicle to infrastructure and turnkey services for customers. The development of this cutting-edge technology will enable us to strengthen our industrial base and set up new value-generating activities in France in this promising segment,” declared Renault Group CEO Luca de Meo.

Plug Power has deployed over 40,000 fuel cell systems, designed and built 110 refueling stations that dispense more than 40 tons of hydrogen daily, and installed several Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) technology electrolysers in Germany, France, The Netherlands, and Portugal.

To create hydrogen gas, an electrolyser uses electricity to break water into hydrogen and oxygen in a process called electrolysis. The result creates the gas that can either be compressed or liquefied. Since it is an energy carrier it can be used to power any hydrogen fuel cell electric application - trains, buses, trucks or data centres.