French aeronaut and president of the Solar Impulse Foundation Bertrand Piccard has broken the world record for the longest distance travelled in a hydrogen-powered vehicle on a single refuelling.

Driving a Hyundai Nexo, Piccard left the FaHyence hydrogen station in Sarreguemines on Monday 25 November, a place chosen because of the Grand Est Region's commitment to responsible mobility, and arrived the next day at the Musée de l'Air et de l'Espace in Le Bourget – a distance of 778km. Never before has a production car powered by a hydrogen fuel cell covered so many kilometres on a single charge.

Accustomed to extraordinary challenges, including the first round-the-world trip in a balloon with Breitling Orbiter and the first round-the-world trip in a solar plane with Solar Impulse, this time Bertrand Piccard was able to take passengers along on this adventure.

In his capacity as the new world distance record holder with a hydrogen vehicle, Bertrand Piccard said: "With this adventure, we have proven that with clean technologies, we no longer need revolutionary experimental prototypes to break records. Everyone can now do it with standard zero-emission vehicles,” said Piccard. “A new era in performance is beginning, for the benefit of environmental protection”.

Record key figures
Number of kilometres traveled: 778km
Remaining range displayed on the counter: 49km
Air purification: 404.6 kL, the volume of air that 23 adults breathe every day
CO2 reduction: 111.2 kg, the amount of gas emitted by vehicles of the same category over 778km.