The new V6 engine from Alpine burns hydrogen. The residual product is therefore nothing but water. The result, on the other hand, is 740 horsepower.
Renault's sports brand Alpine has developed a new 3.5-liter V6 engine from scratch. It burns hydrogen and thus leaves no footprint on the environment other than water.
On the more technical side of the matter, we are talking about a bi-turbocharged engine, which the engineers have developed using methods from Formula 1. Paradoxically, one sport, Alpine/Renault, is withdrawing in just one year.
Unlike fuel cell technology, which converts hydrogen gases into electricity, the new V6 engine burns the hydrogen. Thus, it works exactly like an ordinary internal combustion engine. That is, with the exception of the fuel.
The combustion chamber is designed to burn a special type of hydrogen called Dihydrogen H₂. According to Alpine, this should provide the most 'normal' form of combustion.
Conversely, this means that the relatively small 3.5-liter V6 engine is capable of delivering a whopping 740 horsepower. Something that gives the car a top speed of 330 km/h. The hypercar called Alpenglow Hy6, in which the hydrogen engine will be installed, will be equipped with a total of three hydrogen tanks – each tank has a capacity of 2.1 kilograms.
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Alpine will probably use the hydrogen car on various race tracks in the beginning. But the car brand has neither confirmed nor denied whether a version with number plates is also on the way.
Renault is not alone in experimenting with hydrogen. Both Toyota and BMW go with the same thoughts. In fact, the Japanese are so far advanced in cooperation with the Germans that BMW can send the first series production of hydrogen cars on the street in 2028.
Toyota already has the hydrogen car Mirai, which is also available on the Danish market. However, this is a car with fuel cells. And a car with difficult conditions here at home. All hydrogen stations are closed.
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