GM Explains Its Delay in Launching a Fuel-Cell Car

General Motors Co. says it won’t join the rush to produce a fuel-cell car because the vehicle would be instantly antiquated by the fast pace of technological development.

GM has had a fuel-cell propulsion system ready to put into production since 2010. But Charlie Freese, who heads the company’s fuel-cell activities, tells WardsAuto.com even the latest iteration completed earlier this year already is out of date.

He says launching a fuel-cell vehicle before the technology is ready could cause consumers to reject it. A rollout, he adds, “has to be timed right.”

The lack of a viable hydrogen fueling network also is a concern. Freese notes that California, the only state in which fuel-cell vehicles currently are sold, has only about a dozen refueling centers. He says those are often out of hydrogen or dispense it very slowly.

GM has invested more than $1.5 billion in the technology to date and has been awarded more fuel cell-related patents since 2002 than any other company in the industry, according to Wards.

Working with partner Honda Motor Co., GM says it has been able to reduce the size and weight of fuel cell stacks and supporting components by about 50% in its current test fleet, which uses modified Chevrolet Equinox SUVs. GM says the new system is more durable, easier to produce and an order of magnitude less expensive to make.It also uses about one-third as much pricey platinum.

GM and Honda expect to begin using jointly developed components in their own fuel cell vehicles by about 2020. GM also is working with the U.S. Army on a new fuel cell-powered all-terrain test vehicle based on the Chevy Colorado pickup truck. The vehicle will use GM’s current technology but switch to the next-generation system being developed with Honda when it’s ready.

Separately, Honda plans to launch its second-generation Clarity fuel cell sedan later this year. Toyota and Hyundai already offer fuel cell vehicles in the U.S. and other markets, and Nissan plans to do so by the end of the decade.

The three Japanese carmakers also are working with Japan’s government to expand the number of hydrogen stations in that country. They aim to increase the number of fuel cell vehicles on the road there to about 6,000 in 2020 and as many as 100,000 by 2025.