GM still going all out for hydrogen - wants to be first with 1 million hydrogen cars
There is certainly no lack of people willing to make bold pronouncements regarding hydrogen cars. Over the summer, we heard about a million hydrogen-powered vehicles in India by 2020. Last year, there was talk of six million hydrogen cars in Europe by that same date. Today, over in Shanghai, GM vice president Elizabeth Lowery told Reuters that GM will be the first company to make a million fuel cell-powered vehicles. Lowery was helping to unveil the hydrogen Chevy Equinox in China.
GM's hydrogen timeline is already in motion, with Project Driveway underway (stay tuned for some news on that in a little bit). The company has previously announced that it hopes to have fuel cell vehicles available for sale/lease by around 2011 or 2012, and the million vehicle mark should be reached not too long thereafter.
So, GM's intention is easy to read. What would you do if you were a betting man?
[Source: Reuters / Fang Yan]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
autotech 12:38PM (11/25/2008)
Yes, GM must hurry to get them out...like they allways have, don't worry about quality or reliability, we can fix it later with Recalls and TSBs. in the past GM owners only bought GM, those loyal buyers are dying off, the last can be seen driving OIldsmobiles, Buicks and Caddy's. Of course rappers, pimps and drug pushers hold most of the flashy guzzler Escalade and Bummer market. I don't think GM is going to make the cut in the new Auto market where reliability, resale, operating cost per mile and customer service will determine whether or not you make cars. I worked for dealerships for 20 years, GM had the most problems, that's why I spent the most time at GM dealerships. Dave
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Lou Grinzo 2:10PM (11/14/2007)
My message to GM or any company making such claims: SHOW ME THE CLEAN, AFFORDABLE HYDROGEN SUPPLY!
Until we have a way to generate, distribute, dispense, and use hydrogen on a massive scale, and do it all with less CO2 emissions and at a cheaper price than charging EV's, I ain't buyin' it. 2011? 2012? Where do we think battery technology will be by then? What kind of power and energy delivery per dollar, even with the added requirement of quick recharges, will we have?
The basic problem with hydrogen fuel cells in vehicles is that even if you can make them work perfectly, the fuel supply issues mean they still can't compete with far more energy efficient EV's.
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Throwback 3:11PM (11/14/2007)
It's the chicken or the egg scenario. No Hydrogen vehicles no supply, no supply no vehicles. I applaud GM and Honda for pushing forward with their vehicles knowing the infrastructure is not there yet. They may be able to influence the industry. There is no silver bullet for all of our transportation needs. Several possibilities exist, why not pursue them all?
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Edward Pleskovitch 8:10PM (11/14/2007)
This concept is wonderful.What took you so long?The problem is that hydrogen comes from natural gas an oil product,which does not help us get away from oil addiction.If you use water it still takes enormous amounts of electricity which is generated by coal,a very dirty fuel,so there is no gain for the environment there either.Sounds like hype to me.
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Murc 11:52PM (11/14/2007)
GM...your wasting money on this one.
You should pull virtually all the funding of Hydrogen...and put it into battery tech.
It seems Like GM is trying to have knowledge in all areas...just in case one doesn't pan out...they can go to another, (regular/E-85/hybrid/hydrogen/electric)...which isn't bad thinking...its just the most expensive...
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Throwback 8:01AM (11/15/2007)
Murc, GM is not the only pursuing this strategy. Honda and Toyota are as well. I also think it is the way to go. Fuel cells may not be the answer for some, but it is a big world. Fuel cells may make more sense in some countries, makes sense not to right off any technology at this point.
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PacMan 12:03PM (11/15/2007)
Natural Gas is not a Oil by-product.
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Chris M 1:03AM (11/17/2007)
"Natural Gas is not a Oil by-product" but it is controlled by the oil companies, and most of it comes from oil wells. It is the cheapest source of H2. No wonder the oil companies are pushing H2.
GM is going nuts trying to hedge all its bets. GM has no less than 5 different hybrid systems either for sale or under development, including 2 different "plug-ins", and has produced a variety of H2 prototypes. GM really needs to focus more, drop some of the less successful designs, and concentrate on their strengths, too much money is being wasted in dead-end projects like this one.
As for the bet: I'm betting GM will never reach 1,200 fuel cell vehicles, let alone a million. There are already more freeway capable battery electric vehicles on the road than fuel cell prototypes, I bet by 2012 Tesla Motors alone will be selling more electric cars each year than all the fuel cell cars made by all manufacturer in a decade. I bet by 2030 there will be a "whatever happened to the hydrogen car" special on TV.
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rose 4:29PM (11/17/2007)
Natural gas does not come from oil. Natural gas comes from gas wells. SOME comes from oil wells that hit gas instead of oil.. then it is a a gas well. Saying "Most" is wrong. Biomethane comes from anaerobic digesters and landfills, a renewable. Sweden has it right, doesn't even call cars "cng" rather "biogas" cars.
http://westernfarmpress.com/news/06-30-sweden-biomethane-fuels/
Quote from link above: Sweden refers to its biomethane program as a way to “green” the pipeline. Once upgraded, renewable biomethane is in some cases injected into the nation’s natural gas pipeline network to augment supplies. The program is similar to the “green energy” program operated by some electric utilities in California. There is no "years supply" or "peak" of biomethane, simply make what you need.
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