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September 15, 2006

GM ready to push into fuel-cell car market

Source: Motoring

Detroit, Michigan - General Motors, having cut some $9-billion from its ongoing costs, now has the capacity to fund production versions of its fuel-cell vehicles.

GM vice-chairman Bob Lutz said on Thursday that GM could have a fuel-cell powered vehicle ready for production before 2015 "or well before 2015".

The next-generation of fuel-cell vehicles would use a chemical reaction between hydrogen stored in a fuel tank and oxygen to produce an electric current that powers the car.

GM said on Thursday that it had readied a drivable version of its Sequel, a prototype, sport-utility vehicle the company had displayed at the 2005 Detroit auto show.

GM, the world's No.1 automaker, is ready for new investment in cutting-edge technology after spending months in an effort to shutter plants and cut jobs, Lutz said.

GM chief executive Rick Wagoner recently told senior executives that he wanted to push the company toward a more competitive position in technology, fuel economy and vehicle design after coming through the recent restructuring, Lutz said.

"He said, 'Those are my three priorities, and we're not going to let anything stand in the way'," Lutz said.

Lutz said the electrical systems used to control steering, braking and other features of the Chevrolet Sequel had given GM the technology to spin off a range of other new vehicles, including an all-new electric car.

Lutz, who has responsibility for GM's product development efforts, said he would push for the company's strategy board to approve production of a fuel cell vehicle.

"I don't expect any resistance there," he said. "We can't come in with a financial disaster. It has to make some sense, but I'm confident we can do that."

GM, like other major automakers, has been readying new vehicles that will reduce reliance on petrol and offered improved efficiency, including petrol-electric hybrids and diesel engines.

Many automotive executives and analysts expect that fuel-cell vehicles, which emit only water vapour, will be the industry's next major breakthrough, although many have also said it will be more than a decade before they are generally available.

GM said its Sequel had an unprecedented range of 500km between hydrogen fill-ups and could hit 100km/h in 10 seconds.

The biggest challenge in bringing a mass-market fuel-cell vehicle to market is creating a hydrogen storage tank, Lutz said. The current Sequel uses an expensive high-pressure, carbon-fibre tank but GM is also experimenting with storing the hydrogen in a solid state, he said.

California, under governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, has pledged to build a network of hydrogen filling stations for fuel-cell vehicles but Lutz said China could be the first major market.

"China is far more committed to replacing imported petroleum than the US and we're just a little bit disappointed at the lack of will in the current (Bush) administration," Lutz said.

He declined to say how much GM had spent on its fuel-cell development efforts but said the budget had not been cut in GM's turnaround plan.

"GM's financial health is so much better that we can pour the coals on the things that made GM so great in the 1960's, before 20 years of gradual decline," he said. - Reuters