Renault Embléme concept shows hydrogen ambitions

If two heads are better than one, then the new Renault Embléme concept car previews a very smart future indeed. That’s because despite being electric, it gets its power from two very different sources.

On the one hand, the Embléme features a pretty standard setup for an electric car, with a 40kWh battery providing electricity to a 215bhp motor. And while Renault hasn’t revealed how far the car will go on a single charge – it’s estimated to be ‘several hundred’ kilometres – it’s likely to at least match the 186 miles that the upcoming Renault 5 gets from its own 40kWh battery. 

That range is intended to be enough for most drivers during the working week, whereas for longer trips buyers can also top up using hydrogen power. A 2.8kg tank stores hydrogen, which is then fed to a fuel cell which in turn creates electricity to feed the Embléme’s motor, offering a range of 218 miles per tank-full. 

Combined with the regular battery’s charge, that means a total range of 404 miles could be possible – enough to get you from London to Leeds and back again without stopping.

With a length of 4.8 metres, the Embléme takes on the shape of a swept-back coupé-styled SUV, with four doors and likely seating for five passengers inside. Among the car’s design features are razor-thin LED headlights, a blocked-off front grille, and a lit-up Renault logo at the front, complemented by the brand’s name spelt out in light-up letters across the boot.

While the Embléme’s future as a car you’ll be able to buy is uncertain, it’s intended to show how green producing a car can be. Indeed, Renault says that it has slashed the greenhouse gas emission produced by the car over its life cycle by 90% compared with an equivalent car built today.

The French brand plans to achieve net zero carbon – when the amount of greenhouse gases produced in production is balanced out by the amount removed from the atmosphere – in Europe by 2040, and Worldwide by 2050.

Renault, like a number of car makers, has experimented with hydrogen power before, most recently revealing a version of its Renault Master, with the large van converted to run on hydrogen power in 2022. However, significant hurdles still exist to more brands – and car buyers – adopting hydrogen power.

As of 2023, there were just 16 hydrogen filling stations across the UK, with only some of those being open to the public. More filling stations are planned, with the Government promising to invest £400m over the next three years to open more stations, but the infrastructure lacks behind that already set up to charge electric cars.

At the moment, only two hydrogen-powered cars are offered for sale in the UK – the Hyundai Nexo SUV and the Toyota Mirai executive car.

For all the latest reviews, advice and new car deals, sign up to the What Car? newsletter here

Read more: Best electric cars >>