(Hordain / France) – The car manufacturer Stellantis NV, headquartered in the Netherlands, wants to introduce this into series production at its Hordain plant in the French region of Hauts-de-France in the future 
Build light commercial vehicles from Peugeot, Citroën and Opel in hydrogen-powered versions with fuel cells. According to Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares, this underlines the plan to “invest in the most advanced technologies in France and promote low-carbon mobility.”
The hydrogen-powered vehicles are assembled on the “Multi-Energy” production line. After body construction, the fuel cell models went through the steps of painting and assembly on the same production line as combustion and electric vehicles, the company said.
During final production, a special team will install the hydrogen tank, the additional batteries and the fuel cell. This halves the time it takes to adapt the model compared to the previous small-series process, in which the fuel cell was assembled as part of a pilot production in Rüsselsheim.
Funding from the state
The series production of the hydrogen version for light commercial vehicles is financially supported by the French state and requires investments of ten million euros. The “K-Zero” vehicles with fuel cells are aimed at the needs of commercial users who require locally emission-free solutions with a long range (400 kilometers), the fastest possible refueling time (three minutes) and unchanged loading capacity (1.000 kilograms of payload).
Stellantis NV was created in January 2021 as a holding company from the merger of the automobile groups Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and Groupe PSA. The brands include Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Citroën, Dodge, Fiat, Jeep, Lancia, Maserati, Opel, Peugeot and Vauxhall. The Hordain plant is the group's center for commercial vehicles.
Photos
Hydrogen-powered delivery van from Peugeot. © Stellantis NV
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Production hall at the Hordain factory. © Stellantis NV
