Vauxhall Movano Hydrogen: 311 mile range for new fuel cell van
Vauxhall will be the only manufacturer to offer electric and hydrogen vans from next year...
On sale Spring 2025 | Price £60,000 (est)
The first hydrogen-powered van to go on widespread sale in the UK will hit the roads early next year. The Vauxhall Movano Hydrogen is based on the regular Movano Electric, but uses hydrogen fuel cells, rather than batteries.
It can be filled from empty to full in just five minutes, and a tank of hydrogen can take the large van 311 miles, according to official figures. By contrast, the latest Vauxhall Movano Electric can travel 263 miles, and takes 55 minutes to charge from five to 80% using a 150kW public charger.
The Movano Hydrogen’s electric motor produces 148bhp, and has an 11kWh lithium-ion battery to aid starting and acceleration. Like the Vauxhall Movano Electric, the Hydrogen uses a regenerative braking system, feeding power back to the battery to maximise economy. Importantly, the hydrogen tanks take up no more space than the batteries in the Movano Electric or the fuel tank in a diesel Movano.
Regular Movano models are available in three lengths and three heights. In its largest L4 H3 configuration, the Movano Hydrogen will offer 17m3 of cargo space. A payload of up to 1370kg is fractionally less than the equivalent electric van version.
Currently, there’s only a tiny handful of hydrogen filling stations in the UK, but British start-up Element 2 is poised to open four more early next year, and has plans for an additional 30 sites in 2025. These will be mostly located around existing truck stops, highlighting the focus on hydrogen-powered trucks and vans, but they can also be used by owners of hydrogen-powered cars, such as the Hyundai Nexo and Toyota Mirai.
Hydrogen vehicles generate power through a chemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen within fuel cells. This generates electricity to power the wheels; the sole byproduct is water, which is discharged through an exhaust.
Fans of the technology say the abundance of hydrogen is an ideal alternative to battery production, and point to quick refuelling and a fuel-cell vehicle’s ability to draw in – and clean – dirty air as it moves along as other positives. Critics say there is an environmental cost to produce and distribute hydrogen fuel, and the need for it to be stored at very high pressures brings its own challenges.
The launch of the Movano Hydrogen follows field trials of a similarly-powered Vauxhall Vivaro in Europe. It is not yet known whether Stellantis – Vauxhall’s parent company – will develop hydrogen versions of the Movano’s siblings, the Citroën Relay, Fiat Ducato and Peugeot Boxer, or the Stellantis-built Toyota Proace Max.
Vauxhall is yet to reveal pricing, but comments from Stellantis’s UK product and pricing boss, Brad Miller, suggest there could be a significant hike over the Movano Electric, which starts from £51,435, before the government’s plug-in van grant. That means the Movano Hydrogen could cost upwards of £60,000, depending on specification.
“Pricing is a step increment," Millar said, "so it is a TCO (total cost of ownership) decision, [rather than being made purely on purchase price] and people will need to be quite specific that they need that [hydrogen] solution. For these, a volume of their vehicles will be BEV and a volume of their vehicles will be [hydrogen] fuel cell.”
He also acknowledged that the market for zero-emission vans will primarily be driven by electric models. “Vauxhall will be the only van manufacturer that will offer two very distinct zero-emissions solutions, and that enables fleets to choose which one suits best their operational requirements,” he said.
“BEV (battery electric vehicles) will be the dominant solution with LCVs (light commercial vehicles), but there are a number of operational situations where BEV just doesn’t work…particularly in winter. Hydrogen doesn't have that deterioration in winter.
“It’s an important contribution, but it’s not a dominant solution.”
The Vauxhall Movano Hydrogen will be available to order later this year, with first customer deliveries in 2025.
Read more: Best electric vans
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