28.5.2004
Update 4th week: Successful first half of the marathon completed

This week, the Opel Fuel Cell Marathon completed the first half of the marathon on the way between Paris and Darmstadt, Germany. After a distance of exactly 5,474 kilometers, the HydroGen3 set a new long-distance record for fuel cell cars, outpacing the Necar5 from DaimlerChrysler, which held the record until last Tuesday. Today, the Opel Fuel Cell Marathon - powered by GM, can be visited in Zürich at the technical university ETH.

The stop-over in Darmstadt was used to give the HydroGen3 a short pit stop inspection at GM’s nearby fuel cell development center in Mainz-Kastel. For more in-depth analysis, the engineers replaced a number of parts. Dr. Udo Winter, chief engineer of GM Fuel Cell Activities commented:” The HydroGen3 has been taken to its limits on many occasions during the first half of the marathon. We are very proud that there has been no defect that resulted in a failure. At the same time we are learning a great number of things during this tough day to day on-road test which just can not be simulated in the laboratory.” The second half takes the marathon vehicle through Switzerland, Austria, Italy, France, Spain and Portugal. This stretch will be particularly interesting for the fuel cell team because of the mountain stages and the much higher outside temperatures.

In November 1997, to speed up the work on this environment-friendly and resource-saving propulsion concept, three development centers were built: one in Honeoye Falls near Rochester in the US State of New York, one in Warren, Michigan and one in Mainz-Kastel, Germany. They were later joined by the GM Advanced Technology Center in Torrance, California, with its electric drive specialists, and later a coordination office in Tokyo. Today, more than 600 scientists and engineers at the different locations are involved with various aspects of the joint fuel cell program under the name GM Fuel Cell Activities.

The center in Warren does the basic research, while the center in Honeoye Falls looks after the development of the fuel cell and individual components. They also study the possibilities for large-scale production of the fuel cell stack. The center in Torrance contributes special expertise in electrical drive components, while the center in Mainz-Kastel is responsible for systems development, integration into the vehicle and its practical testing, as well as the development of hydrogen storage systems.

Next week, the HydroGen3 marathon car can be seen in Austria, Italy and Spain with stops in Salzburg, Turin and Barcelona.

If you want to learn more about Fuel Cell Technology, please click here Fuel Cell Marathon.