Military trials due for GM hydrogen technology

It signed a multi-year contract at the end of September with the army’s Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (Tardec) to develop and test the truck.

Hydrogen fuel cell propulsion technology helps address two major environmental challenges with automobiles today – petroleum use and carbon dioxide emissions.

Plug Power and 3M will jointly develop new fuel cell stack technology to expand Plug Power’s presence into “hydrogen-enabled electric vehicles”.

General Motors (NYSE:GM) and the Army are jointly testing an off-road hydrogen fuel cell-powered Chevrolet Colorado pickup, potentially boosting the prospects of fuel cells in the auto market amid the rush to electric vehicles.

While they might not be flawless for every use case, powering a vehicle with a hydrogen fuel cell can be quite a compelling solution.

“The potential capabilities hydrogen fuel cell vehicles can bring to the warfighter are extraordinary, and our engineers and scientists are excited about the opportunity to exercise the limits of this demonstrator”, TARDEC Director Paul Rogers said in the GM statement. He also noted fuel-cell vehicles generate water as a by-production which would come in handy in harsh environments such as the desert. In 2007 it launched a fleet of fuel cell-powered Chevy Equinox SUVs that were tested on the road in real world situations for several years, which included stops at several military bases. Water vapor is the only emission.

The downside of gaseous hydrogen is that it is not energy dense, limiting driving range, and it must be stored under extremely high pressures.

As to the sketch of the fuel-cell pickup released by GM, we’re not sure why it is so cryptic.

The TARDEC fuel-cell program is scheduled to last 12 months to find out how the alternative fuel system responds to severe duty cycles and the rigors of military life.

GM has been jointly developing a fuel cell vehicle with Honda that it intends to begin selling in 2020.

Toyota is selling its Mirai fuel cell sedan in California and Japan.