Ram Announces Plans for Hydrogen Fuel-Cell Pick-Up

The Ram 5500 will be Stellantis’ first heavy-duty pick-up with hydrogen fuel-cell technology, shared the head of hydrogen for Stellantis. Production of this vehicle will begin in 2024. This is a follow up to the first announcement of this plan in October 2023. The company has also announced several commercial vans for Europe that will also be fitted with hydrogen fuel-cell technology.

Ram has revealed plans to introduce a heavy-duty pick-up with hydrogen fuel-cell technology by the end of the year.

In a recent interview with German publication Welt Am Sonntag, Jean-Michel Billig, head of hydrogen for Stellantis – the parent company for 14 car brands, including Jeep, Dodge, and Ram – said there were plans to bring the hydrogen-powered pick-up to market, with production set to start in 2024.

However, so far the hydrogen fuel-cell technology – which converts hydrogen gas to electricity to run electric motors – will only be available on the Ram 5500, a heavy-duty truck focused on commercial use and sold in North American markets.

Likely Markets for the Hydrogen Fuel-Cell Pick up

It’s unlikely the alternative fuel will be offered on Australian models for the foreseeable future, given Ram currently sells the 1500, 2500, and 3500 pick-ups locally.

Ram was the first ute brand to offer a mild-hybrid powertrain in Australia, providing slightly improved fuel economy and emissions on its large petrol V8. It’s believed the company’s ‘Hemi’ V8 will soon be retired, in favour of a twin-turbo six-cylinder engine.

North America’s Ram 5500 is typically offered with a choice of 6.4-litre petrol V8 or 6.7-litre turbo-diesel six-cylinder engines.

Stellantis initially announced it was working on a hydrogen pick-up back in October 2023 – alongside an electric ute – though details of the project weren’t provided at the time.

While the Ram 5500 isn’t sold in Europe, Stellantis has previously revealed several hydrogen fuel-cell commercial vans for the region.

Ram’s Commitment to Hydrogen

“Hydrogen will be an essential part of CO2-free mobility in the future,” Billig told Welt.

“We want to offer a completely decarbonised product range in Europe from 2030. We also need this technology for this.”

In January 2024, Drive exclusively reported an electric mid-size Ram ute had disappeared from the company’s product plans, two years after it was first revealed.

Byline Steve O’Connor