GM's Second Generation Fuel Cell System, Smaller is Better
By John O'Dell March 17, 2010
General Motors is one of nine major automakers working on fuel cell development and vowing to bring the technology to the marketplace in fuel-cell electric vehicles by 2015.
The automaker has recently been bragging about its second generation "fuel cell cube," a package that includes the electricity-producing fuel cell stack, the compressor, electric drive motor, electronic controls and system humidifier and would fit in about the space of a large four-cylinder engine.
It is half the size of the fuel cell cube being used in the Chevrolet Equinox Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (FCEVs) GM has been testing with real-world drivers since early 2008.
Development and fine tuning is still ongoing, but when ready for production sometime around 2015 the smaller-but-better Gen 2 system will enable the company to use fuel-cell electric drive in its low slung passenger cars as well as in SUVs
Charlie Freese, executive director of GM's fuel cell programs, sat down with Green Car Advisor recently and ran through the improvements.
They include a near-quadrupling of system life and a 31 percent hike in fuel storage capacity in a dual-tank system that is just two-thirds the size of the previous, lower-capacity triple-tank storage system.
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Noticed this video on the Chevrolet channel on YouTube talking about the new GM fuel cell stack. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlu3QDsdCnI
GM has been bragging? I don't see any bragging here except it's divulging a new great technology. Your bias is showing through.
GM, keep up the good work!
jray - Bias only if you think bragging is always a bad thing. Absolutely nothing wrong in our book with bragging a bit about a good thing you've done, which is the case with GM and its fuel cell program.
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