GM: Moving Towards a Greener, Cleaner Future

General Motors is quickly progressing forward on new “green” powertrains, suchas the revolutionary series electric hybrid system for the Chevrolet Volt Concept, and the latest generation of fuel cell electric vehicle prototypes. At a recent event held at Toronto, Ontario, Canada’s Environment and Energy Conference, Nick Zielinski, Chief Engineer of Advanced Vehicle Development for General Motors walked journalists through GM’s plans for the future and showed off some its latest developments.

First of all, the car that everyone’s talking about, the Chevrolet Volt. There are currently two versions it, both of which use the E-Flex drivetrain system. The original, “Extended Range Version” that debuted back in Detroit in January features an electric motor that drives the wheels, plus a fossil fuel-powered motor (gasoline, diesel, E85) attached to a generator that is used to charge the battery for extended range. The second version is a fuel cell model that sports GM’s fifth generation stack in place of the fossil fuel motor; it debuted in Shanghai in April. As far as development goes, both versions of the Volt are getting on pretty well and the project is “on target”, though an official on-sale date has yet to be announced. GM intends onproducing both the ERV and the fuel cell version of the Volt, both of which will arrive within a year of each other.

Meanwhile, GM has just announced two developmental contracts for battery components, the step before the production contract is awarded, creating a sort of technology race to determine who can come up with the best design according to GM’s specs. Compact Power Inc. will be working together with LG Chem to produce a battery and power supply management device, against the second team comprised of Continental (known for its tires) and A123. The better design, in terms of cost efficiency and performance, will be awarded the final contract.

In news relating to hydrogen power, General Motors has also shifted more than 500 of its key fuel cell engineers from the research and development sector to production and engineering groups. This alignment of fuel cell research with GM’s core engineering folks is proof that GM is willing to put its money where its mouth is in terms of manpower. With the fifthgeneration of fuel-cell technology already undergoing testing, General Motors is now working on aspects of durability and longevity and is promising that the fuel cell vehicles that it will produce will be competitive with conventional vehicles in terms of cost, performance and reliability. Such goals include a life cycle that is capable of more than 150,000 miles, a fuel cell cost of $50/kW for the system and a range of more than 300 miles.

The Volt might be a work in progress, but General Motors has been enjoying some outstanding results with its other hydrogen car, the Equinox Fuel Cell. It went into the record books as the first electrically powered fuel cell vehicle to be driven over 300 miles on regular surface roads on a single fill up. At the end of the journey, the Equinox still had some hydrogen left in its tanks, demonstrating that GM’s claims are in fact achievable. The Equinox is also a part of Project Driveway, which will see more than 110 Equinox Fuel Cells go into the hands of the military, government officials and celebrities for real-world testing.