General Motors and the U.S. Army plan to unveil a hydrogen fuel-cell electric vehicle in October based on the Chevrolet Colorado midsize pickup, a partnership the automaker thinks will yield crucial information on a zero-emissions technology it hopes to commercialize sometime by the end of the decade.
The Colorado FCEV is being developed under an agreement between GM and the U.S. Army Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center. While GM wants feedback on how the technology performs, the Army wants to test it for potential use in combat because fuel cells operate quietly and can provide remote electrical power generation.
In a vehicle, fuel cells provide lots of low-end torque, good for getting out of trouble quickly, and its sole byproduct is water, which soldiers could use to hydrate.
The Army will field test the Colorado FCEV in 2017. Specifications on the vehicle have not been released.
“Hydrogen fuel cells as a power source have the potential to bring to the force incredibly valuable capabilities,” TARDEC Director Paul Rogers says in a statement.
“We expect the vehicle to be quiet in operation and ready to provide electricity generation for needs away from the vehicle. With fuel-cell technology advancing, it’s an ideal time to investigate its viability in extreme military-use conditions.”
Charlie Freese, executive director-Global Fuel Cell Activities at GM, says the project demonstrates how fuel cells can be used outside of automotive, a key consideration of the automaker as it develops the technology jointly with Honda.
“We need to continue pursing these opportunities along with our plans for production of a commercial fuel-cell system in the 2020 time frame,” Freese says.
The unveil of the pickup will occur at the fall meeting of the Association of the United States Army in Washington.
There is a geographical link between GM and TARDEC, the Army’s R&D group for ground vehicles. They operate sprawling technical campuses a stone’s throw from each other in Warren, MI, a suburb of Detroit. However, GM recently consolidated its global fuel-cell activities 25 miles (40 km) northwest of Warren in Pontiac.
