GM Takes HydroGen to the Next Level

Sorry, HydroGen4 is just an Opel, not the BSG Gallactica

Still bankrupt American manufacturer GM has unveiled today, together with Regione Piemonte officials in Italy, its fourth generation hydrogen powered vehicle, dubbed HydroGen4 (original, ain't it?). Together with the vehicle, GM announced a fuel cell vehicle demonstration program, as part of the understanding between GM, Politecnico di Torino and Regione Piemonte.

"With the support of Regione Piemonte, a small fleet of HydroGen4 vehicles could take to the road next year. A demonstration program would provide GM with important real-world feedback on fuel cell technology and the driving experience,” Mike Arcamone, GM Powertrain Europe said.

HydroGen4 is powered by a fuel cell stack with 440 single cells which combine hydrogen and oxygen from the air to produce electricity. The only bi-product is water vapor, while the instant torque characteristics of the HydroGen4 electric motor allows the vehicle to fastly pick-up from low speed.

Until now, the American manufacturer has a fleet of more than 100 vehicles roaming the US as part of its Project Driveway testing program. Until now, the HydroGen cars travelled 1.2 million kilometers (750,000 miles), similar programs being set up in Japan, Korea, China and Germany.

“If everyone works together to support infrastructure development, investment and remove regulatory hurdles, we could see more HydroGen4 vehicles on the road and take our first steps as a community towards truly sustainable mobility,” Arcamone added.

“Today we inaugurate a center that represents entrepreneurship, research, innovation and public demand for mobility to bring Torino to the same level of the other European capital cities. As in Berlin, we aim to realize the first fleet of hydrogen vehicles in Italy which are essentially real-world experimental laboratories for future low environmental impact travels.”