Truck & Off-Highway Engineering - October 2023 - 18

Fuel cells ready for
commercial deployment
GM Hydrotec boss says hydrogen fuel cells
now are a viable zero-emissions choice for
work trucks, other transportation modes.
by Bill Visnic
C
all it a " technology-meets-the-moment " place in the transportation
sector's innovation timeline. After decades of concentrated
development work, General Motors' fuel-cell R&D
unit Hydrotec is poised to deploy " the first applications that
will be going commercial " of its hydrogen fuel-cell technology, said
Charlie Freese, executive director of GM Hydrotec and GM Defense in
a recent meeting with a group of automotive journalists and analysts.
" Large vehicles and heavy payloads - that's where replacing petroleum-fueled
vehicles with hydrogen fuel cells works very well, "
Freese asserted. " That's where we plan to go moving forward. "
He pointed to Hydrotec's Power Cube, a modular, " common fuelcell
system " suitable for vehicles or for stationary-power applications.
The Power Cube is comprised of 300-plus versions of its current second-generation
fuel cells in a compact and easily packaged footprint
that also incorporates power- and thermal-management systems.
Freese said the second-generation fuel cell design has markedly
reduced loadings of precious metals required for the system's catalyst.
The Gen 0 design used about 80 grams of platinum, Gen 1 reduced
the amount to around 30 grams - and the Gen 2 technology
has cut the amount to the 20-gram level.
" Our process has been to optimize the way fuel cells operate, "
Freese explained. He said dimensions have been significantly reduced
and the current generation is a " much more manufacturable design, "
he added, including the " soft goods " such as the membrane and gasdifferentiation
media.
Third-party partners
Freese mentioned several previously announced projects with nonautomotive
companies to employ GM fuel-cell technology, although
18 October 2023
GM believes large pickups such as this 2024 Chevrolet Silverado
3500 are good candidates for fuel cell-based electric propulsion.
he did not detail which, if any, may be close to requiring
commercial volumes. These include:
* In January 2021, GM confirmed it would supply
Hydrotec Power Cubes to Navistar for use in its production
hydrogen fuel-cell electric vehicle (FCEV)
International RH Series regional-haul Class 8 tractor-trailers.
Two Hydrotec Power Cubes generate
electricity for the truck with zero gaseous emissions.
* In mid-2021, GM announced it would collaborate with
Liebherr-Aerospace to develop a fuel cell power-generation
demonstrator system - along with GM's controls
and software models - for aircraft. Freese said the
application is meant to replace the conventional fossilfueled
auxiliary power unit (APU) of Liebherr's heavy
commercial aircraft, explaining the APU application
offers " incredible opportunities " because of the fuel
cell's complete lack of noise and emissions. The fuel
cells also will generate onboard water that can be used
to humidify the cabin air and provide water for toilets.
* Also in mid-2021, GM said it was joining with global
railroad equipment maker Wabtec to adapt Power
Cubes for railroad locomotives. Wabtec developed a
battery-electric locomotive that it projected could
cut carbon emissions by up to 30%. Rafael Santana,
Wabtec CEO and president, said in a release, " By
working with GM on Ultium battery and Hydrotec
hydrogen fuel-cell technologies, we can accelerate
the rail industry's path to decarbonization and pathway
to zero-emission locomotives by leveraging
these two important propulsion technologies. "
TRUCK & OFF-HIGHWAY ENGINEERING
CHEVROLET
Truck & Off-Highway Engineering - October 2023

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