Renault emblem, this electric and hydrogen concept car which divides by 10 its carbon footprint

Remember, during the 2024 Auto World Cup, it was exposed in a corner of the Renault stand. In the shadow of the R4 E-Tech, the Concept Emblème had somewhat surprised the public with its lines and technologies quite distant from the brand’s current models. And for good reason, it represents Renault’s vision of a more eco -responsible car by 2035, which we were invited to discover the secrets.

This concept, described as “demo because” by Renault, is a technological laboratory whose objective is to tend towards carbon neutrality. Thus, the manufacturer’s teams and their partners had the task of designing a car whose carbon footprint over its entire life cycle is 90 % lower than that of a 2019 Captur Essence. The objective is thus to go from a carbon footprint of 50 tonnes of Co₂ equivalent (co₂e), on the basis of 15 years and 200,000 km, only 5 tonnes of CO₂e. As a comparison, the carbon footprint of a megane e-tech Electric, recharged with electricity produced in Europe, is today estimated at 25 tonnes of Co₂e on the whole of his life cycle.

A concept that does not have the physical of his ideas

If the logic would have liked to create a more compact car, to minimize its carbon footprint, “The idea was not to make a micro-car, but a real car to live”explains Pascal Tribotté, project manager in the Embleme. This concept thus takes the form of a break 4.80 m long all the same. The result is a C_X 0.25 and a SC_X 0.60 m²good in absolute terms, but which does not beat any record.

To reach these scores, Renault engineers have opted for a complete fairing of the foundations, aero wheel hubs, an active air input at the bottom of the grille, a retractable diffuser and a cameras feedback. Outdoor those are integrated into the front wings, while the rear window has been sacrificed to allow a more fleeting roof line.

Photovoltaic cells are integrated into the roof and allow electronics to be supplied on board. Not enough to change the situation, allowing to save only one or two kilometers of autonomy, recognizes Pascal Tribotté, but Renault wanted to go to the end of his approach and maximize the efficiency of his concept. Brand engineers followed a logic of “Test and Learn”exploring many technological choices and holding some, which may or may not arise in series. The development of the concept has already resulted in around fifty patents filed.

The mass of the car is announced at 1800 kg. It benefits from aluminum openings and rims and a simplification of many elements. For example, doors handles, developed by the equipment supplier Akwel, are capacitative and activate an electric unlocking, in order to reduce the mass of the system by 60 %.

This approach is more visible inside. Thus, most of the dressings are mono-material and assembled without glue or welding, in particular to promote their recycling.

The concept has almost 50 % of recycled materials, including falls linked to its production, as well as natural materials, such as linen and pineapple fiber which dress certain parts of the passenger compartment.

Technologies are said to follow an approach “Shy Tech”with in particular a central screen that only comes on when you need it. It cannot be said that the technology of the Concept Emblème is really discreet, with a large panoramic screen which runs along the dashboard, or even an animated external logo.

For the rest, this interior is full of amazing details, such as quotes inviting to travel everywhere on board, bins of flexible and unfoldable doors, or manual controls of integrated seat adjustment in the textiles. The commands of mirrors and the windows are integrated under the coating of the counterports, there too in order to simplify the design and to reduce the use of plastic.

The rear seats of the concept are not the most spacious, but the central place is not at a discount for once. On the contrary, it is even the most welcoming of the three places in the bench and she takes advantage of armrests for once integrated into the side files.

An electric battery and fuel cell engine

The mechanical configuration used to move this concept is not 100 % electric. Indeed, the project teams calculated that, to offer autonomy in line with the vehicle template, it was preferable to opt for a modest battery capacity associated with a fuel cell, in order to carry out its largest journeys with hydrogen.

Thus, the Concept Emblies a 40 kWh battery, as much as the smallest battery of the Renault 5 E-Tech, which allows it to travel 300 km to electricity alone. Designed by Verkor, this NMC battery retains classic architecture with cells “Push” Integrated into modules, which take place in a pack integrated into the car.

To go further, the car has a 2.8 kg hydrogen tank under its hood and a 30 kW fuel cell under the rear seats, in order to bring total autonomy to 1000 km. Lasting 5 min, the full of hydrogen takes place under the hood of the car, which also allows access to a front trunk (fruit).

This technological choice to use hydrogen can surprise, while Luca de Meo, CEO of the Renault group, declared during his hearing in the National Assembly in February that he “There is no market on the hydrogen vehicle” Today. Pascal Tribotté, however, explained to us that Renault still saw a place for hydrogen special vehicles by 2035, provided that the infrastructure is developing. We are still far from it and the government has also announced a downward revision of hydrogen production capacity for the coming years, the same day we were able to approach this concept.

To supply this car only with a battery, the Pascal Tribotté teams estimated that a 74 kWh pack would have been necessary. The carbon footprint would then be slightly heavier, but could still be compensated with a little more work on the subject side, explained the project manager. The use of a fuel cell as a range of autonomy is therefore only one track among others and will not necessarily be retained on future group cars of the group.

Conversely, a point that could soon arise in series at Renault is the propulsion architecture of the Emblem concept, which takes up an electric motor from Megane E-Tech of 160 kW (218 hp), adapted to this new rear arrangement.

Among the other specificities to reduce the carbon footprint of the car, let us quote Michelin Primacy tires which are dedicated to it and which embark some of the innovations of the next manufacturer. Bas-carbon steel and aluminum supply is also for many.

Whether for the production of the car where during its use phase, the drop in its carbon footprint largely holds the greening of energy production. Life cycle analysis giving a 5 -ton footprint of CO₂he for the Embleme was indeed led on the basis of decarbonation projections of electricity and hydrogen production by 2035. If the car was produced and used today, the decrease in its carbon footprint would therefore be clearly less.

As for the cost of producing such a model, which certainly does not intend to be marketed as is, we imagine that it would be much higher today than that of a conventional car. Pascal Tribotté believes that such a car could be competitive, but that it would depend on the cost of decarbonized electricity necessary for its production.

It is therefore necessary to expect the next Renault models, and other manufacturers, take up some ideas presented by this concept. The car will make its first laps in the coming months, first in 100 % electric mode, then with the functional fuel cell.