Renault unveils Scenic Vision electric and hydrogen hybrid concept car

Renault has unveiled its Scenic Vision, an innovative concept car that brings the brand’s vision for a greener, safer and more inclusive future to life. This is a hybrid with a difference, which features a combined an electric and hydrogen powertrain.

The Scenic Vision’s design and manufacture incorporates methods that the Renault Group and its brands will use to achieve carbon neutrality in Europe by 2040 and worldwide by 2050. This includes Renault aiming for an entirely electric range by 2030.

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Outside, the Scenic Vision showcases Renault’s future all-electric family cars and provides a preview of an all-electric model that will be unveiled in 2024. It’s a neat looking crossover style vehicle of the modern age. The inside offers a future where technology and innovation will make the world more sustainable and environmentally-friendly.

The Scenic Vision concept car brings the most futuristic decarbonisation technologies to life now, and  embodies the three pillars of Renault Group’s sustainable development strategy; carbon neutrality, safety and inclusion.

For example, 70 percent of its materials are recycled and 95 percent are recyclable, contributing directly to resource preservation. As a hybrid, utilising both electric and hydrogen power, it requires fewer and shorter stops. Its carbon footprint, including the battery, is much smaller, being 75 percent lower than that of a conventional electric car and being a zero-emission car in production and in use.

It also features technology that enhances driver and passenger safety by reducing the number of accidents by up to 70 percent. The design of the Renault Scenic Vision also mirrors the development teams’ intention to create a car that is unique, accessible to all and right for everyone.

The Scenic Vision concept car is powered by a one-of-a-kind hybrid – electric and hydrogen – propulsion system. It has a new-generation motor, a smaller battery and a fuel cell running on green hydrogen. It is ushering mobility into a completely new age, which the Group believes is viable for the coming decade.

Renault’s Scenic Vision’s 160kW electrically excited synchronous motor derives directly from the All-New Renault Mégane E-Tech Electric’s motor and is made at the plant in Cléon. It uses no rare-earth elements, which helps to reduce its carbon footprint and create a responsible and sustainable ecosystem. 

The 40kWh battery is recyclable and will be made in France by 2024 at the Renault ElectriCity Gigafactory. It is lighter, smaller and costs less than a battery for a similar electric vehicle (EV). It also has a 15kW fuel cell to recharge it during long drives and extend its range. In 2030 and beyond, once the network of hydrogen stations is large enough, it will be possible to drive up to 800km, with the hyrdrogen tank able to be refilled in five minutes or less.

Renault says that 95 percent of this concept car’s materials, including the battery, are recyclable. The exterior materials, including steel, aluminium, carbon fibre and plastics, can all be recycled at the end of their life. Everything inside is also designed responsibly. For example, the foams, fabrics and stitching on the light beige seats are made of the same material, produced from fully recycled and recyclable plastic.

Estimates suggest that the number of electric vehicles on Europe’s roads will increase tenfold between now and 2030, from 10 million to 100 million. Renault Group is the first carmaker to work on the full battery lifecycle. It has thus developed solid expertise in increasing their durability and using them for a wider variety of purposes. Once a battery is no longer fit to power a vehicle, its energy can be reused in stationary storage solutions in homes or offices, or elsewhere, such as in boats, refrigeration systems, machinery or airport logistics.

More than 70 percent of the materials used in the Renault Scenic Vision are renewable and/or recycled. It has for example adopted materials from the aviation or food-processing industry. Creating this global ecosystem, where materials from various sectors are transformed to be used in new ways, is another step towards a more responsible and sustainable world.

Ian Osborne
Ian Osborne
Editor-in-Chief at ElectricDrives

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