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Chevrolet Has Made A Hydrogen Fuel Cell Pickup Truck For The U.S. Army

Chevrolet has revealed a prototype based on the Colorado Pickup truck that will be used by the U.S. Army to test alternative propulsion solutions. Instead of diesel, gasoline, or other fossil fuels, it uses hydrogen.
Chevrolet Colorado ZH2 fuel cell electric vehicle 11 photos
Photo: Chevrolet
Chevrolet Colorado ZH2 fuel cell electric vehicleChevrolet Colorado ZH2 fuel cell electric vehicleChevrolet Colorado ZH2 fuel cell electric vehicleChevrolet Colorado ZH2 fuel cell electric vehicleChevrolet Colorado ZH2 fuel cell electric vehicleChevrolet Colorado ZH2 fuel cell electric vehicleChevrolet Colorado ZH2 fuel cell electric vehicleChevrolet Colorado ZH2 fuel cell electric vehicleChevrolet Colorado ZH2 fuel cell electric vehicleChevrolet Colorado ZH2 fuel cell electric vehicle
The American Army will test the resulting model, named Colorado ZH2 to discover how hydrogen fuel cell vehicles cope with military missions. The prototype will be employed in extreme field conditions, and the first tests will be made early next year.

As you can observe, this vehicle is not a standard Chevrolet Colorado with a different powertrain configuration. First of all, the chassis of the vehicle was extended and reinforced. The result stanced over 6 and a half feet (1.9 meters) tall, and over seven feet (2.1 meters) wide.

The off-road capabilities were extended with the aid of 37-inch tires, along with a proper suspension that has been modified to handle all manner of terrain.

Just like Nissan’s pickup truck concept with auxiliary hydrogen fuel cells, Chevrolet’s Colorado ZH2 can supply electric power in isolated areas.

As with any other hydrogen fuel cell vehicle, the system operates by turning hydrogen into electricity and water vapors. When compared to a conventional generator, this solution does not make any noise, and it is also environmentally friendly.

The water generated by the fuel system is of interest to the U.S. Army, which might collect it to use for day-to-day applications. It is worth noting that they appreciate the high wheel torque at all speeds, as well as the reduced acoustic and thermal signatures of this vehicle.

Hydrogen Fuel Cell vehicles have many advantages for the military, but they lack two elements of conventional vehicles that also affect regular production models.

First of all, they cannot be refueled from a “jerry can.” Instead, Fuel Cell Vehicles need a pressurized hydrogen fuel supply, which needs at least a complicated storage tank on a trailer, to say the least.

Secondly, hydrogen is not the safest fuel in the world, and lithium-ion batteries are also easy to blow up. Unlike hydrogen, diesel fuel is not ignited by sparks or even direct exposure to a small flame.

Evidently, diesel will light up if you touch it with an open flame, but it will not burn as violently as hydrogen in the same conditions. Also, hydrogen cannot be stored in just any receptacle, so the troops using these would have to monitor the range carefully.
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About the author: Sebastian Toma
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Sebastian's love for cars began at a young age. Little did he know that a career would emerge from this passion (and that it would not, sadly, involve being a professional racecar driver). In over fourteen years, he got behind the wheel of several hundred vehicles and in the offices of the most important car publications in his homeland.
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