A plastic mock-up of the GM Gen5 fuel cell stack

General Motors built the first fuel cell-powered vehicle back in the 1960s when they created ElectroVan, a concept that was only tested briefly before being shelved. Over the past decade however, the company has worked aggressively to develop fuel cell technology. Last spring when they showed off the fuel cell variant of the Chevy Volt at the Shanghai Motor Show, they also announced their fifth-generation fuel cell stack.

At the time, VP of R&D Larry Burns discussed the new stack but didn't give much detail. The focus of the new design was on dramatically reducing the cost while improving the power density. One of the improvements that was mentioned was catalyst thrifting. This involves improved methods of applying the catalyst materials to ensure thinner, more uniform surfaces. This reduces the total amount of catalyst material that's required while allowing it to be more effective.

Update: At General Motors request two photos were removed from the gallery.

Continue reading about the Gen5 stack after the jump.