News - Opel, GM Fuel Cell Prototypes are designed to meet the electricity and mobility needs of the future

15.4.2002
Opel, GM Fuel Cell Prototypes are designed to meet the electricity and mobility needs of the future

Opel and GM's Global Alternative Propulsion Center (GAPC), with projects like the GM Regenerative Stationary Fuel Cell Power System and record-setting prototype fuel cell vehicles, are taking a lead in the development of the environmentally compatible, resource-sparing power systems of the future.

Unlike conventional units that rely on combustion engines which produce noise, vibration, and exhaust, the General Motors Stationary Fuel Cell power system is quiet, clean, and efficient. The GM Fuel Cell Power System is regenerative because it produces its own hydrogen fuel via electrolysis. The fuel cell power module then creates electricity on demand by using the hydrogen which is stored as compressed gas.

A fuel cell used as a stationary power source can help meet the growing demand for electricity and help meet critical backup power needs across multiple markets. The advantage of the fuel cell is that – when powered by hydrogen taken from renewable sources – its only "emissions" are water and heat.

GM's Development Partners

Quantum Technologies – produces the hydrogen storage module including its advanced composite tank and a a compressor.
Giner Electro-Chemical Systems – supplies the electrolyzer, which is basically a fuel-cell in reverse using water and electricity to create hydrogen that is stored under pressure.
Hydrogenics – integrated all of the system modules that comprise the General Motors 25kW Regenerative Stationary Fuel Cell Power System.

Opel and GM's expertise in the field of fuel cell propulsion is also underscored by the "HydroGen1", a hydrogen fuel cell-powered prototype vehicle based on the Opel Zafira, which set a total of 15 international records for fuel cell vehicles in high-temperature tests in the US state of Arizona.

The new "HydroGen3" prototype incorporates a number of advances over its predecessor model. A cut-away model of the HydroGen3 and the latest GM fuel cell stack are also on exhibit at the Hanover Industrial Trade Fair, which opened its doors on April 15, 2002.

Design improvements in the HydroGen3 have brought the prototype vehicle another step closer to improving the propulsion system's performance and its suitability for day-to-day use. The most prominent change was the elimination of the high-performance buffer battery. Previously this energy-storage unit had the job of dealing with performance peaks in the drive unit, but it has become superfluous now that the GAPC engineers have optimized the fuel cell system so dynamically that it can provide the required power immediately on its own. In the coming months, several road-going prototypes of the five-seater fuel cell Zafira will undergo the same rigorous heat, cold, height and endurance trials that production vehicles are subjected to.

GAPC with GM and Opel facilities in Rochester, New York; Warren, Michigan and Mainz-Kastel, Germany, was established in late 1997 to intensify research and development on various aspects of fuel cell technology with the goal of developing the propulsion system of the future. Opel and GM consider the fuel cell to be the key technology on the road to sustainable mobility with pollutant-free and climate relevant carbon dioxide emission-free automobiles. The companies are also convinced that the fuel cell will revolutionize power generation; not just for automobiles, but also for homes and for virtually every power need.