GM Hydrogen Car - Hydrogen car information

GM Hydrogen Car - Going Green With Hydrogen Cars

GM Hydrogen Car

GM Hydrogen Car will take a look at General Motors' involvement in the hydrogen car industry, and what GM Hydrogen cars are currently being worked on.

GM Hydrogen Car - The Sequel

GM Hydrogen Car

Hydrogen Cars, the Sequel

There is a GM hydrogen car called the Sequel that is tantalizingly close to full scale production for the many people (im)patiently waiting for a hydrogen powered vehicle. Environmentalists, technocrats, and people who are simply tired of gasoline prices skyrocketing with no end in sight may yet find their dreams of clean, affordable driving answered.

GM is investing heavily in hydrogen fuel cell technology and they have two main hydrogen cars in development today. The first is the Equinox Fuel Cell, a crossover SUV that has a fuel cell powertrain in GM's Equinox chassis. The second is the Sequel, also a crossover SUV, which has been built from the ground up as a hydrogen vehicle. It is GM's hope to have the Sequel in general production by 2010.

The latest fuel cell design for GM hydrogen cars is based on Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) technology. This is an electrochemical process where the hydrogen interacts with a catalyst on the surface of the fuel cell's PEM. The PEM strips the hydrogen of it's electrons, and the electrons are used to power the vehicle's electric motor. On the other side of the membrane, the hydrogen combines with oxygen from the air producing an exhaust of nothing but pure water. Forget about reduced emission; hydrogen cars give zero emission.

GM's 4th generation fuel cell design is now being road tested in their Equinox Fuel Cell hydrogen vehicle and can produce 73kW of power, 25% more than GM's previous generation fuel cell. Even more importantly, the fuel cell has a road life of 50,000 miles and can operate in sub freezing temperatures. In New York City, Washington D.C. and Southern California, GM is testing 100 Equinox Fuel Cell vehicles in real world conditions through Project Driveway. Unfortunately, there are no Equinox Fuel Cell vehicles available to the general public, but you can still apply to participate in Project Driveway for a three month period here..

Based on data taken from the Equinox Fuel Cell road testing, the GM hydrogen car Sequel will go to production by 2010. With the Sequel, GM has made a hydrogen fuel cell SUV that is on par with any gasoline powered SUV. The Sequel has a top speed of 90 mph and can go from 0-60 mph in under 10 seconds. The regenerative breaking system helps to charge the Sequel's 65kW lithium ion battery pack that provides additional power during acceleration.

Unlike the Equinox, the Sequel chassis is designed strictly for a fuel cell powertrain. The fuel cell stack, batteries, and hydrogen tanks all fit into a skateboard style aluminum chassis that is only 11 inches thick. The aluminum body of the Sequel is roughly the size of a Cadillac SRX with a wheel base of 119” and a length of 196”, which means there is ample passenger and luggage room.

The Sequel uses gaseous rather than liquid hydrogen to avoid the inevitable difficulties that come with storing liquid hydrogen at -420 Fahrenheit. The gas is stored in three 10,000 psi carbon composite tanks which provide a 300 mile range for the vehicle between fueling. This puts the Sequel tantalizingly close to the magical 350-400 miles that car manufacturers say North Americans expect to go before refueling.

What makes the GM hydrogen car different from fuel cell vehicles being developed by Honda and Toyota? First, GM is giving the Sequel by-wire braking and steering. Direct electronic control of braking and steering, coupled with independent 25kW rear wheel hub motors, gives the Sequel an unprecedented level of traction control in difficult road conditions. The second major difference is the fact that GM is already doing full scale field trials of their fuel cell technology with Project Driveway. These real world field tests are a necessary final step before production and also help to create hydrogen fueling stations in some areas.

There are still hurdles to overcome, however, before hydrogen cars are truly viable. The biggest challenges right now are the cost of the fuel cell technology and the lack of hydrogen fuel infrastructure. Because of these challenges, hydrogen cars have been just over the horizon for the last decade, but the GM hydrogen car Sequel is definitely bringing that horizon much closer.

Thank you to Norman Deschamps for this "GM Hydrogen Car" article.

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