GM Gives Lessons Learned as Real-World Fuel Cell EV Test Nears Million-Mile Mark
By Scott Doggett September 9, 2009
General Motors began deploying Chevrolet Equinox fuel cell electric vehicles two years ago as part of its Project Driveway program to test FCEVs in everyday driving conditions, and yesterday the General reported that the vehicles have passed the million-mile mark.
As Mark Vann, Chevy's FCEV deployment manager noted in GM's Fastlane blog, no other automaker comes close to the number of miles they've logged using hydrogen in real-world conditions "with real people driving these Equinox fuel cell EVs."
In case we didn't know what real people were, he goes on to describe them: "These people are teachers, homemakers, accountants, video game designers and people from many other walks of life just like you, and they were selected based on their passion for the environment and new media prowess."
All good. But it's the lessons he and others associated with the project have learned from all those real people that we wanted to know about, and Vann didn't disappoint:
"We've used these experiences to extend fuel cell stack life and improve the regenerative braking system, which benefited our 2-mode hybrid vehicles since it's the same brake system used on the Chevy Tahoe and GMC Yukon 2-mode hybrids. Plus, we've applied what we've learned about fuel cell thermal design to the Volt battery design.
He went on to say that he and his team could have tested the vehicles at GM's proving grounds, but the opportunity to have real people drive these vehicles "gave us a much higher degree of relevant feedback on the vehicle's performance -- and even more important, it gave us a great opportunity to listen to our customers."
Then today, during a Web chat with the public, Vann provided additional information we believe may be of interest to you.
In answer to the question what will it take to get a hydrogen infrastructure built, he responded: "A market pull -- consumers will have to want the technology in numbers significant enough to just justify the cost of the infrastructure. A nationwide infrastructure -- stations in the top 100 cities and the interstates that connect them -- would be $15 billion to $20 billion. Project Driveway is one way to show that the vehicles work well when there is hydrogen available."
In answer to a question regarding cold tolerances, Vann said: "The Chevrolet Fuel Cell Equinox has gone through two New York winters and we have had them here in Michigan. They can start at temps as low as zero degrees fahrenheit and run at temperatures as low as minus-25 degrees fahrenheit. ... The Gen 2 stack [in development] will have even better temperature tolerances."
In answer to what is the best way to make hydrogen, he said "the most inexpensive way to make hydrogen is reforming natural gas. But it is not carbon neutral. We think in the long term green tech like solar, wind, geothermal and hydroelectric are better ways to electrify water to make hydrogen."
And in response to the question, "If the infrastructure is $15 billion, why won't the government spend that. Seems like small change compared to the the several hunderds of billions spent on other items (tarp, war, etc.)?" Mark Vann responded: "We think it would be good investment."
For more on the exchange, visit the GM Fastlane Blog.
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