GM Fuel-Cell Prototypes Closer To Future Revolutionary Automobile

MONACO – More than 200 journalists from all over the world will gather here, beginning today, to be among the first to test drive General Motors Corp.’s HydroGen3 and Hy-wire fuel-cell prototype vehicles that may one day revolutionize the global auto industry.

Both vehicles demonstrate GM’s leading development in fuel-cell technology, a fuel cell stack, which produces a continuously available power of 94 kilowatts (top speed of 160 kilometers/hour or 99 mph).

“Technology based on hydrogen really holds the promise for a future that can eliminate many of the emission concerns that we have today as well as providing energy that can be renewed,” said Larry Burns, vice president of GM Research Development and Planning. “By combining the fuel-cell with by-wire technology, as we are demonstrating in Hy-wire, we can also offer consumers endless possibilities in the body design and driving experience.”

The GM Hy-wire, the world’s first drivable vehicle to combine fuel-cell propulsion with by-wire technology, incorporates the features first envisioned in the AUTOnomy concept vehicle at the 2002 North American International Auto Show in Detroit and the Geneva Motor Show.

“All of the touring sedan’s propulsion and control systems are contained within an 11-inch-thick skateboard-like chassis, maximizing the interior space for five occupants and their cargo. There is no engine to see over, no pedals to operate - merely a single module called the driver control unit that is easily set to either a left or right driving position.”

The driver control unit, which allows steering, braking and other vehicle systems to be controlled electronically rather than mechanically, provides greater freedom for the driver.

“With by-wire technology, customers can have the option to operate the vehicle in a conventional way with foot pedals and a steering wheel, or through hand controls, as in the Hy-wire, which are similar to accelerating, braking and steering a motorcycle,” Burns said.

HydroGen3 demonstrates how fuel cell propulsion can be optimized for the existing automotive package. GM engineers and scientists have succeeded in dispensing with a number of components that were essential in the previous HydroGen1 version. The complete propulsion system has been packaged so efficiently that the full trunk capacity (600 liters or 22 cubic feet) of the five-seater Opel Zafira is fully available.

The electrical energy needed to operate the 60 kilowatt, 82 horsepower asynchronous three-phase engine is produced on board the HydroGen3 by a fuel-cell stack consisting of a total of 200 interconnected individual cells. With its virtually silent propulsion system, the HydroGen3 accelerates from zero to 100 in around 16 seconds

“The key to selling automobiles is to provide a vehicle that customers absolutely have to have,” said Burns. “We are driving to have compelling, affordable and sustainable fuel cell vehicles -- vehicles that emit only water, reduce energy usage and create a pathway to renewable energy sources and fuels, by the end of the decade.”