Truck & Off-Highway Engineering - October 2023 - 19

PROPULSION | POWER GENERATION FEATURE
" We believe the fuel cell is going to win out in the end. "
- Dan Nicholson, GM's VP of global electrification
GM Hydrotec's modular fuel-cell Power Cubes contain more than 300 fuel cells, as
well as thermal- and power-management systems.
GM Fuel Cell Controls and Process Engineer Joe Truchan builds
a fuel cell stack at the GM Global Propulsion Systems Pontiac
Engineering Center in Pontiac, Michigan.
" You kind of notice a theme, " Freese said. " [These
partner companies] all have the need for a lot of energy
- and have somewhat predictable usage patterns. "
He said those operational patterns make it easier
to understand critical aspects such as how much
onboard fuel storage is required for a set distance or
workload; it is easier to plan refueling for transportation
modes such as planes, trains and trucks that operate
on predetermined routes.
Pedal to metal on H2
infrastructure
cost,
Freese also stressed that GM and Hydrotec remain
focused on the fuel portion of the fuel-cell equation.
The company has ongoing initiatives to reduce the
cost of a kilogram of hydrogen to roughly the cost of a
gallon of diesel fuel.
The company is working to reduce the cost and improve
the efficiency of electrolyzers that use electricity
to derive hydrogen from water molecules. The company
announced in a release in late 2022 that it engaged in a
joint-development agreement with Nel Hydrogen U.S.,
a subsidiary of Norway's Nel ASA, " to help accelerate
the industrialization of Nel's proton-exchange membrane
(PEM) electrolyzer platform " with the goal of
developing hydrogen more cost-competitively.
TRUCK & OFF-HIGHWAY ENGINEERING
Operating a coating machine in the fuel-cell laboratory at the GM Global
Propulsion Systems Pontiac Engineering Center in Michigan.
GM said that Nel was the first company in the world with a fully
automated alkaline electrolyzer production line and that the two
companies hope to industrialize the production of Nel's PEM electrolyzer
equipment to enable technology advancement. " An automated
production concept is key when scaling up and driving down cost on
electrolyzer technology, " said Nel CEO Håkon Volldal. " By utilizing
the combined expertise of both companies, it will help to more
October 2023 19
ALL IMAGES: STEVE FECHT FOR GENERAL MOTORS
Truck & Off-Highway Engineering - October 2023

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