Fiat Seicento H2

The Fiat Seicento Elettra H2 Fuel Cell and the Fiat Seicento H2 Down Town, also called the Seicento Hydrogen, were two hydrogen fuel-cell electric prototypes that Fiat built on the Seicento in 2001 and 2003. They followed the earlier lead-battery Elettra prototype, judged too heavy at 1,200 kilograms with a range of 90 kilometres, and came from a project begun in 1996 with funding from the Italian environment ministry and the cooperation of the national research council CNR, ENEA and the universities of Turin, Rome and Naples. The H2 Fuel Cell, shown in February 2001, kept the 30 kilowatt electric motor, fed by a fuel-cell stack supplied with hydrogen from six nine-litre cylinders in the boot; it weighed about 130 kilograms less, had a range of 140 kilometres at a steady 60 kilometres an hour, reached 100 kilometres an hour and refuelled in about ten minutes. The H2 Down Town, presented in Milan on 20 October 2003, used a metal hydride battery pack that cut a further 250 kilograms, raised the stack's continuous output from 7 to 20 kilowatts, extended the range to 220 kilometres, reached 130 kilometres an hour and was approved for four seats.