Fuel Cell Test Drive

MONACO — Turn the key and there's a quiet whirring noise as the system powers up.

Wait about five seconds, put your foot on the brake and push the forward-facing arrow that sits on the center console where the gearshift lever normally would be.

Now, step on the throttle. Whoosh, the HydroGen3 Zafira minivan darts into busy traffic with surprising agility, changing lanes and climbing steep grades with such ease that other motorists are unaware they are sharing the road with one of the world's most advanced vehicles: a hydrogen-powered fuel cell vehicle.

Almost indistinguishable from a conventional Opel Zafira, a small minivan General Motors Corp. sells in Europe and other areas outside North America, HydroGen3 is GM's latest bid to convince the world it is a technology leader and isn't interested only in building gas-guzzling pickups and SUVs.

Like a conventional Zafira, it has plenty of room for a driver, four passengers and luggage, and it offers performance that's almost good enough for the real world: HydroGen3 goes 0-62 mph (100 km/h) in 16 seconds; has a top speed of 99 mph (160 km/h); and has a range of 168-248 miles (270-400 km), depending on its fuel storage system.

But this minivan is anything but mainstream: The fuel cell stack under the hood produces electrical current by combining hydrogen with oxygen in the air in a chemical reaction. The current is channeled to an 82-hp electric motor that drives the car. It's far more energy-efficient than driving the wheels with a gasoline or even a high-efficiency diesel engine, and the only tailpipe emission is water vapor.

Because fuel cells don't emit pollution or global warming gases and are extremely efficient, most of the world's largest auto makers consider them the ultimate powertrain of the future and are — even though they deny it — waging an international public relations war to impress government regulators, environmentalists and the car-buying public with their progress.

The same week GM officials were in Monaco showing off the auto maker's latest technical advances to 200 journalists from around the world, Honda Motor Co. Ltd. and Toyota Motor Corp. were delivering fuel cell hybrid vehicles to the City of Los Angeles, two California universities and government agencies in Japan (see related story on p. 25).

DaimlerChrysler AG also has announced plans to make 60 fuel cell-powered Mercedes A-Class cars available to government fleets in Europe and the U.S. to see how they perform in everyday use, and Ford Motor Co. is developing a small fleet as well.

GM invited journalists to the south of France to drive two versions of the HydroGen3 — its third-generation fuel cell vehicle. One features hydrogen stored in gaseous form in high-pressure tanks and the other with the fuel stored in super-cooled liquid form. Because it is denser, the liquid hydrogen provides significantly longer range, but it also will “boil off” or dissipate if it sits for long periods, so GM is developing two different storage strategies to accommodate different driving styles. “Both these systems are already suitable for day-to-day use,” says Josefin Meusinger, staff engineer, hydrogen storage systems.

The vehicles also have undergone about 20 real-life and computer-simulated crash tests and performed as well or better than conventional Zafiras, says Udo Winter, chief engineer-Research & Engineering, automotive fuel cell applications. In one test, vehicles were crashed in a closed tunnel, allowing hydrogen to seep out for 15 minutes. No explosion occurred, engineers say, because hydrogen disperses quickly, rather than pooling on the ground as would gasoline vapors.

Unlike fuel cell vehicles previously offered for test drives by a number of manufacturers during the past several years, these didn't break down. Besides being more reliable and showing that fuel cell powertrains can be packaged in traditional vehicles without sacrificing interior room, the HydroGen3 demonstrates much more, says Larry Burns, General Motors Corp.'s vice president of research, development and planning. Because the propulsion unit is so compact, it can be manufactured as a complete module, he says.

“This means the HydroGen3 could, in principle, be assembled on existing production lines. This is a major step along the road to achieving production-line maturity for the fuel cell car,” he says.

Another key advance is the elimination of a high-power buffer battery. The elimination of back-up batteries — still used by most competitors because their FCVs operate as hybrids — cuts weight and cost.

Journalists also were allowed to drive the futuristic Hy-wire concept car, which uses the same fuel cell components as the HydroGen3 squashed into a skateboard-like platform 11 ins. (28 cm) thick. It features aircraft-style electronically actuated steering and brakes, and represents GM's vision of building fuel cell vehicles in an entirely new way, rather than just trying to stuff the new powertrain into conventional bodies.

It is touted as the world's first drivable vehicle to combine fuel-cell propulsion with by-wire technology, meaning steering and braking inputs are relayed to the wheels electronically, rather than mechanically.

In the Hy-wire, drivers and passengers sit directly on the aluminum-skinned platform as if they were positioned in the fuselage of an airplane. There is no engine to see over, so the windshield area extends down to the floor. And there are no pedals to operate, so a small pedestal serves as a footrest. Throttle and braking are controlled by twisting and squeezing handles on an aircraft-style yoke.

Powering up the Hy-wire's fuel cell stack (engineers say they want the process to take no longer than five or 10 seconds) creates a subdued symphony of turbine-like whines and whirring noises that makes one feel like Luke Skywalker firing up his X-Wing fighter as its various fans and compressors begin working. But after the initial “gee whiz” factor wears off, piloting the Hy-wire is a chore.

Twisting the rubber handgrips gets you moving at a healthy pace, but steering through a rubber-cone chicane is awkward and imprecise. Stopping is accomplished by squeezing the handgrips, with the brakes operating in an on-off fashion. After a couple of laps it all feels more natural, but the lack of road feel and a more progressive calibration to the controls isn't confidence-inspiring. The upshot: It's a fascinating concept, but the Hy-wire still is a long way from prime time.

The HydroGen3 is much more impressive, precisely because it is so unremarkable compared with a conventional car or truck. It shows it is possible to engineer a fuel cell-powered vehicle that could be acceptable day-to-day transportation for many consumers, albeit with a few improvements such as better acceleration and longer range.

Now that the system's size is manageable and it is capable of being mass-produced, GM engineers say they plan to focus most of their efforts on reducing cost — still about 10 times as much as a typical internal combustion engine.