Headquartered in Boston, Advent Technologies Holdings, Inc., a leader in the fuel cell and hydrogen technology space, announced a new record for the longest distance ever covered by a hydrogen vehicle without refueling and an electric vehicle without recharging. The record was broken within the framework of a project conducted by ARM Engineering, a French-based research and development firm focused on providing innovative and sustainable solutions for the mobility market.
Choosing Advent’s methanol-based H3 5000 fuel cell unit as the power source for the electric Renault Zoe, it managed to cover a total of 2,055.68 km over 40 hours while driving at approximately 50 km/h (31 mph).
The project took place at the Albi circuit in France over the course of three days. As part of the demonstration, five drivers from ARM Engineering drove the modified Renault Zoe non-stop from early morning until midnight, surpassing the previously achieved world record of 1,360 km.
The H3 5000 fuel cell unit offers key advantages such as a long operating lifetime, low service and maintenance fees, robust functionality, and an advantageous total cost of ownership, Advent commented.
Dr. Emory De Castro, Advent’s Chief Technology Officer, stated, “we are proud to participate in this unique project….This new world record represents a great example of how fuel cells can produce clean and uninterrupted power while replacing the need for conventional fuels. Undeniably, the global hydrogen-powered fuel cell vehicle industry is accelerating at an unprecedented rate, and we at Advent Technologies very much look forward to continuing to be key enablers of this transition.”
ARM Engineering recently developed renewable synthetic methanol called G-H3, which has, among other features, the ability to power both thermal and electric vehicles, with the latter being powered by a fuel cell, it said.