La Poste and the UTBM Are Testing Hydrogen Range Extender Kits

PARIS--December 14 2013: The Franche-Comté region and La Poste (French postal service) are testing hydrogen based range extender kits from Symbio FCell in Kangoo Z.E. electric mail delivery vehicles.

As part of a performance validation test in real working conditions, the Renault Kangoo Z.E. electric vehicles used by La Poste will be equipped with hydrogen fuel cell range extender kits by Symbio FCell. They will be deployed in the first quarter of 2014 on mail delivery platforms. These vehicles, with a combination of a hydrogen fuel cell and batteries, offer an extended range that performs even under the most demanding conditions: mail routes of 100 km or more through the cold, hilly and mountainous terrain. This system is expected to double the range of the electric cars used for postal delivery.

"The fuel cell solution improves winter working conditions for postal workers by providing better heating and defogging without impacting battery performance, "says Mr Jean-François Courtoy, Industrial Director at La Poste in Franche Comté. "In addition, it makes replacing the diesel vehicles that are used today for longer routes possible. This will significantly improve our level of global CO2 emissions".

"Our role is to assess and facilitate development, but also to encourage the useful application of this breakthrough technology by citizens, entrepreneurs and policy makers," says Florent Petit, in charge of project management and Director at the UTBM (Belfort-Montbéliard University of Technology, a part of the FCellSYS platform, in collaboration with the LITEN Institute at the CEA - the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission).

"Symbio FCell is proud to participate in the improvement of urban area environments by facilitating the deployment of electric vehicles," says Fabio Ferrari, CEO at Symbio FCell, a hydrogen fuel cell and electric hybrid technology provider. "As of today, we can demonstrate that with long range electrical solutions, a viable business model exists for zero emission city center delivery."