FuelCell Energy Inc (FCEL)

[anunnaki]

GM to provide fuel cell vehicle to Army for testing

Mark Reuss, GM’s global product chief, told investors last month the company had signed “a multi-year contract to build and demonstrate a fuel cell reconnaissance vehicle” for the U.S. Army Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center.

Reuss said the vehicle “will be based on our current fuel cell development program, on our current stack. It will show the unique advantages our proven fuel cell technology can offer in an all-terrain tactical application.”

The Army is interested in fuel cell vehicles for a number of reasons. First, they are quieter and smoother than vehicles with internal combustion engines. Second, they can be used to generate electricity in the field; and because gaseous fuel weighs less than gasoline or diesel, fuel cell vehicles would be easier to fuel. It will show the unique advantages our proven fuel cell technology can offer in an all-terrain tactical application. Because fuel cell vehicles have electric drivetrains, they offer high torque at low speeds, ideal for many types of military vehicles.”

GM has said that it could produce a fuel cell vehicle for consumers by 2020, using the next-generation technology it is developing now with Honda. In 2013, GM and Honda signed an agreement to co-develop fuel cell powertrains. The fuel cell to be tested by the Army is a current GM design and does not feature any Honda technology.

Earlier this year, Charlie Freese, head of global fuel cell engineering at GM, told Automotive News that Honda and GM engineers, working side by side, have made good progress reducing the size and cost of the fuel cell stacks, which are coated with expensive precious metals.

“It’s coming down very, very quickly in terms of precious metal loading. The workhorse fuel cell stacks have 29 grams of platinum. The next-gen stack is down in the 10 gram range. The next generation is running in our laboratory now. Weight is down by almost one half. Size is also down by almost one half. And cost has come down in orders of magnitude,” he said.

http://www.autonews.com/article/20151111/OEM05/151119956/gm-to-provide-fuel-cell-vehicle-to-army-for-testing