Early Dongfeng FCEV Projects In China

Years before Chinese carmakers focused on EVs and PHEVs, they also experimented with FCEVs, CNG, and even diesel powertrains. One of those carmakers was Dongfeng. In the early 2000s, it created a series of FCEVs, one of which was based on the Citroen C-Elysee. But first, let’s talk about politics.

The National 863 Plan – Major Special Project For Electric Vehicles

The “863 Plan“, also known as the National High-Tech Research and Development Program, was first proposed in 1986 to support China’s high-tech research and development.

The “Major special project for electric vehicles”, launched in 2001, was part of the 863 Plan. It focused on solving technical problems in the development of the new energy vehicle industry, especially in technologies such as batteries, motors, and electronic controls.

The goal of this project was to achieve key technology breakthroughs and promote the technological upgrading and market-oriented development of China’s new energy vehicle industry.

The plan singled out three powertrain categories: 1) electric vehicles, 2) hybrid vehicles, and 3) hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles. These categories still form the basic building block for China’s famous “New Energy Vehicle” category.

Today, NEV includes: EV, PHEV/EREV, and FCEV. So, compared to 2001, HEVs are out, EREVs are in, and FCEVs are more broadly defined.

After the government announced the plan in 2001, dozens of Chinese car makers started all sorts of projects, usually in cooperation with universities or research institutes. Central and local governments backed these projects with financial and political support.

At the time, hydrogen was seen as the most promising solution. So, many early projects focused on hydrogen-powered vehicles. Hydrogen is the fuel, and an FCEV (Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle) is the type of vehicle that uses it.

The early Dongfeng projects

Dongfeng developed three prototype fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) from 1996 until 2008:

1996-2000: EQ640 Fuel Cell Demonstration Vehicle (燃料电池示范车EQ640), a bus.
2005: Chutian No.1 (楚天一号): a sedan.
2008: Chutian No.2 (楚天二号): a minibus.

The EQ640 Fuel Cell Demonstration Vehicle

Dongfeng Motor Corporation (DMC) developed the EQ640 Fuel Cell Demonstration Vehicle with the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (DCIP, 中国科学院大连化学物理研究所). The bus had space for a driver, a co-driver, and one passenger. The hydrogen tanks took up the rest of the space. There are no known photos of this project. The fuel cell produced an output of 30 kW.

Dongfeng Electric Vehicle Corporation

In 2001, Dongfeng founded a new subsidiary company for its new-energy R&D efforts: Dongfeng Electric Vehicle Corporation (东风电动车辆股份有限公司). This company developed early EVs, hybrids, and FCEVs. In 2004, a part of this company was spun off and merged with the Wuhan Public Bus Factory to form the new Dongfeng Yangtze River Automobile (Wuhan) Corporation. This company developed and manufactured hybrid buses.

Chutian No.1 and No.2

Dongfeng developed the Chutian No.1 and No.2 in cooperation with Wuhan University of Technology (WHUT, 武汉理工大学). That’s no coincidence, as Dongfeng is also headquartered in Wuhan. WHUT was — and remains — well known in China for its hydrogen research.

The Chutian No.1

Dongfeng based the Chutian No.1 on a converted Citroen C-Elysee sedan. This was a China-only continuation of the Citroen Fukang ZX. The C-Elysee was manufactured by the Dongfeng-PSA joint venture.

The design of the Chutian No.1 was unchanged compared to the Citroen. Dongfeng didn’t even bother to change the badges.

The photo shows Professor Pan Mu (潘牧), leader of the fuel cell technology department of the WHUT. In the center is the Chutian No.1; on the left is the Chutian No.2. Stickers: in orange: 楚天一号. In black: 燃料电池电动汽车, fuel cell electric car. Logos: Wuhan University and Dongfeng.

Specifications

Pan Mu is showing the engine compartment. The main text on the black cover is “25 KW 薄膜钛科电池车前舱”, or 25 kW thin-film titanium battery vehicle front compartment. This refers to the power output of the energy-storage system — 25 kilowatts. A “thin-film titanium battery” was an early experimental energy-storage technology used in research vehicles, not something comparable to today’s EV batteries.

The Chutian No.1 used a single-stack fuel cell packaged in the engine bay. The system was, according to news reports at the time, “close to the size of a traditional engine”. The top speed of the No.1 was 103 km/h.

The Chutian No.1 is in the center. On the left is an FCEV variant of the Volkswagen Santana, on the right is a Xiali HEV. There is a Toyota Prius, too. More on these other cars in upcoming posts.

The Chutian No.2

The Chutian No.2 was based on a Dongfeng minibus. At the time, these kinds of buses were everywhere in China. They usually had up to 20 seats, powered by a big diesel engine. So it made sense for Dongfeng to develop a cleaner FCEV version. This time, the hydrogen fuel tanks were set up on the roof, so the bus retained its capacity.

There’s the text Fuel Cell Bus on the side, in red, in a classic handwritten style.

After 2008

After 2008, Dongfeng focused its passenger car NEV efforts mostly on EVs and PHEVs. However, every few years, it unveiled a new FCEV concept or prototype. The timing was usually aligned with policy papers from the Chinese government, where FCEVs seemingly come and go, depending on who’s in charge. As of today, Dongfeng has never mass-produced a single FCEV model. However, in commercial vehicles, Dongfeng has launched several FCEV pilot projects with buses and trucks.