The Army and automotive industry announced an initiative Monday to make hydrogen-powered fuel cell vehicles part of the battlefield as well as city streets by 2020.
Auto giant General Motors and the Army’s premier automotive lab outside of Detroit unveiled the Chevrolet Colorado ZH2 fuel cell truck, which they will begin testing next year.
GM and the Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center, or TARDEC, showed off the vehicle at the Association of the U.S. Army annual meeting and exposition in Washington Monday.
The company and the center will begin evaluating the off-road vehicle’s performance in 2017.
“Fuel cells have the potential to expand the capabilities of Army vehicles significantly through quiet operation, exportable power and solid torque performance, all advances that drove us to investigate this technology further,” said Paul Rogers, director of the center.
President George W. Bush discussed the vehicle technology in a speech he made during his first term to free the country from its “addiction” to oil.
The Bush administration brought the automotive industry together to make a hydrogen car a reality through its Freedom Car program. The Obama administration had tried a number of times to scrap the hydrogen program, but bipartisan support for the technology kept the funding intact.
Fuel cell vehicles use an electro-chemical conversion process to produce electricity that drives the vehicle without combusting fuel. They are essentially a different class of highly efficient electric car that can outperform more conventional battery-powered cars.
Hydrogen fuel cell cars can go further than a battery-powered car on a single charge, and their recharge time is similar to that of filling up a conventional gasoline car or truck.
Because they are propelled by electricity, fuel cell vehicles make no sound while providing an enormous amount of what engineers call “instant torque,” which makes them perfect for off-road missions and hauling cargo.
In addition, the vehicles’ only emission is water vapor, which the Army wants to harness to hydrate troops in the field, according to the lab.
“We expect the vehicle to be quiet in operation and ready to provide electricity generation for needs away from the vehicle. With fuel cell technology advancing, it’s an ideal time to investigate its viability in extreme military-use conditions,” Rogers said in August in preparing to unveil the vehicle at this week’s annual meeting.
The vehicles possess features that are “attractive to both commercial and military off-road use,” he said. The ZH2 is not expected to replace the Army’s iconic Humvee in the field, Rogers said. The Navy is also interested in using the trucks.
“The Colorado ZH2 is a terrific example of GM’s engineering and design skill in creating an off-road vehicle relevant to a range of potential users,” said Charlie Freese, GM’s global fuel cell chief. “Over the next year, we expect to learn from the Army the limits of what a fuel cell propulsion system can do when really put to the test.”
Toyota unveiled the first commercial fuel cell car last fall, called the Mirai. The car’s price is similar to that of a higher-end Lexus or other luxury sedans. Toyota expects the price to fall as the market for the vehicle expands. Fuel cells have become commercial as service vehicles in the forklift market have become used increasingly as a source of back-up power for the electric grid.
GM has struck a deal with Japanese competitor Honda to co-develop the technology. One of the biggest impediments is developing the refueling infrastructure to supply the hydrogen.
GM has invested billions of dollars in the technology, and plans to release a commercial fuel cell vehicle in 2020. The automakers also are working to build out hydrogen refueling stations and home systems that reform natural gas used for cooking into hydrogen.
