Renault unveiled a prototype of its Master H2 Tech large hydrogen van at the IAA Hanover commercial vehicle show.
Zakaria Zeghari, Renault’s vice president of global sales, says the production model will launch first in mainland Europe and come to the UK six months later, either in the second half of 2025 or at the beginning of 2026.
Renault claims the Master H2 Tech can be fully fuelled in five minutes and will have a range of 700km (435 miles). This compares to the range of 400km (249 miles) that Stellantis quotes for its own large hydrogen van that is available to order now.
“We have a good argument, it’s a very good start,” commented Zeghari about the van’s range capability.
Renault says the Master H2 Tech will have the same loading capacities as the diesel and electric-powered Master line up, which boasts a maximum payload of 1,625kg and load volumes ranging from 11.0m3 to 22.0m3.
The charging infrastructure will be supplied by Renault-owned hydrogen specialist Hyvia.
Zeghari said: “Hyvia will bring the charging stations, we bring the van.”
Zeghari believes the UK LCV market is receptive to the adoption of green technology.
“The UK is favourable in terms of its ecosystem,” he said, “big companies are willing to go carbon neutral.”
Also on Renault’s stand was the Estafette urban delivery concept van (pictured above), which is a product resulting from the Flexis joint venture between Renault, Volvo and logistics company CMA CGM Group.
The Estafette is designed to operate in tight, congested city locations due to its narrow width (1.9m), short length (4.9m) and high roof (2.6m), which allows the driver to move between the one-seat cabin and load area.
Renault says the concept, which is due to go into production within two years, combines the Kangoo L2’s footprint, the Trafic L1H2’s load capacity of 7.1m3 and the Clio supermini’s turning circle of just over 10.0m.
A shutter at the rear opens to the van’s full height and the absence of a tailgate or swing-out doors means no clearance space is required while loading, says Renault. A step unfolds automatically when the shutter opens to make getting in and out of the load area easier and the load bed and sliding side doors on both sides of the load box are designed to make unloading at the pavement safe and convenient.
The Mobilize Bento, which Renault revealed at the Solutrans CV show in Lyon last year, was also on display. Zeghari said the microvan will come to the UK in November 2025.
