Just yesterday, Sam wrote about the environmental clean-up measures that are taking place in China. These clean-up measures are necessary because China is on the development fast-track, so to speak. The country is being built up at an extremely rapid pace, much like the United States was during the Industrial Revolution. The buildup in China can be seen clearly in Shanghai, as the pollution levels in that city are similar to those found in Los Angeles, California, which happens to have the worst air quality in all of the United States.

China plans to do something about their environmental concerns before it is too late, according to this article from the Detroit Free Press. Might China be the first country to install a hydrogen infrastructure in a city? Possibly, and a date as early as in 2010 is mentioned in that same article. As automakers push forward hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, an infrastructure will be necessary in order to fuel those vehicles. If the target dates of 2010 from companies such as General Motors - which sells lots of cars in China - is to believed, then the 2010 date for the refilling stations would make sense. That is, if you believe the hydrogen as a fuel source makes sense in the first place. Speaking of the General, they have at the very least shown proof that hydrogen fuel cell vehicles could in fact be made, and can travel lengthy distances on a single tank, as Sam witnessed first hand.

[Source: Detroit Free Press]

Here is the first of two videos that we will be bringing you today highlighting some of General Motors new green technologies. In this case, the GM Sequel, their latest effort into making a practical vehicle which is powered from a hydrogen fuel cell which generates electricity to power the electric motor which in turn powers the wheels. Dr. Lars Peter Thiesen, GM Europe Manager Hydrogen & Fuel Cell Deployment Strategy, calls hydrogen the answer to our automotive fuel needs for the future. This is certainly a controversial topic, but one cannot argue that pure water vapor out of the exhaust is about as green as you can get. What is debatable is whether a method exists or will ever exist of collecting the hydrogen needed to power the fuel cell in a practical, economically feasible way.

[Source: Youtube via Hugg]

As we mentioned last week, Rick Wagoner, chairman and CEO of GM spoke to the crowd at the Geneva Motor Show last week, and here is a video to prove it. He spoke quite a bit about alternative fuels and alternative propulsion. He went on to state that GM is committed to providing vehicles that can operate on many different sources of energy, and that GM supports the EU and their goals of reducing harmful emissions from automobiles. Wagoner highlighted that GM has recently been focusing more heavily on electric vehicles, both powered by electricity from hydrogen fuel cells, and "extended range electric vehicles, such as the Chevrolet Volt." Extended range being the on-board internal combustion engine powering a generator providing electricity to charge the batteries, I presume. Wagoner said that GM is also pushing forward with their alternative fuel programs such as E85, and working to improve the efficiency of their gas and diesel offerings. GM would like to displace the use of petroleum based fuels with alternatives such as bioethanol, which he mentioned was the fastest growing biofuel. Wagoner showed off the new Saab 9-3 BioPower vehicle that will be available for sale soon in Europe. The new 2.9 liter diesel V6 engine was also on display as well.

Of interest to us here, Wagoner mentioned the GM Sequel, and announced that a test fleet will be released into Europe of ten fuel cell vehicles. Also, regarding their E Flex platform, Wagoner spoke of using many different sources of electricity to power it, and said that there would be new concept vehicles using the platform at the Shanghai Motor Show and Frankfurt Motor Show. These vehicles would likely have nameplates from GM's European brands. That is certainly something to look forward to!

Thanks for the tip on the video, Linton!

[Source: Youtube]

"Hydrogen: Here And Now!" This is theme of the upcoming Hydrogen Expo in San Antonio, Texas, to be held March 19-21. The question is, should it be "Hydrogen: Here And Now? And, if not now, when?" To get a sneak peek at the possible answers to these questions, perhaps you should attend the expo. At the very least, you will have a chance to sit behind the wheel and even drive one of the fuel cell vehicles that will be there, including the BMW Hydrogen 7.

In addition to the cars, there will be examples of hydrogen fueling for your home, your portable electronics and generators. Will any of these technologies become commonplace in the future? Nobody really knows for sure. Judging from comments on our site, there are doubters. However, there are some very smart people working on how to make the "hydrogen economy" a reality. Why not go to the expo and find out yourself?

[Source: Hydrogen Expo via Earthtoys]

Click on the photo Bob Lutz with the Sequel for a gallery of high-res images of the fuel cell prototype

At a conference in Palm Springs, CA, earlier this week, Mohsen Shabana, the chief engineer of the GM fuel cell project announced that they would begin building a production version of the Sequel by 2010. The Sequel is GM's latest generation fuel cell concept using lithium-ion batteries to capture kinetic energy from regenerative braking and third-generation General Motors developed fuel cell. A single electric motor of the same type used in the Chevy Volt concept drives the front wheels, while the rears are driven by a par of hub motors.

Most likely GM will follow a model similar to the one Honda will be using starting in 2008 for the production version of the FCX. The FCX will be built initially in low volumes with availability limited to locations that have some hydrogen filling stations such as California and Florida. As hydrogen becomes more widely available, vehicle availability would be expanded. Currently, only two running Sequels exist, and GM's first large scale field trials will begin this year with a fleet of 100 fuel cell powered Chevy Equinoxes.



[Source: The Raw Story via eGMCarTech]

Despite recognizing that a hydrogen infrastructure will not be in place by 2010, GM plans to go ahead with the production of hydrogen fuel cell cars. Mohsen Shabana, GM's chief engineer on the fuel cell project made this announcement at presentation in Paul Springs, California.

Most of you are probably aware that GM has been doing hydrogen research for a long time now. They are on the third version of their Sequel, and have made great progress in its capabilities. This still does not solve the major problems with hydrogen, namely that it takes more power to capture it than it gives off in operation. So, maybe they are counting on home fueling stations?

Related:

• GM developing home-based hydrogen refueling station
• GM to build world's largest fuel cell fleet
• Sequel Test Drive, Part 1: Intro

[Source: Fuel Cell Works]

Bob Lutz, Vice Chairman of General Motors, said he is going to pressure the company's strategy board to fund full-production hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. GM is demonstrating the Chevrolet's Sequel fuel cell vehicle this week, and Lutz was on hand at a Sequel press event. Lutz told Automotive News (sorry, subscription only) that in the end, hydrogen fuel cell vehicles will be much cheaper to produce.

"The technology has absolutely matured enough to go into production. We still have a slight cost problem on hydrogen storage, but the rest of the vehicle is basically cheaper. You've got no automatic transmission and so forth. The hydrogen stack, or fuel cell, is basically like an automobile battery in reverse. It's just stamped steel plates and separators and membranes in a box," he said.

GM has been spending about $100 million a year for the past five years to get the fuel cell technology working, and the company expects hydrogen production vehicles in 2010. One of the first major hydrogen markets could be China, Lutz said, where many nuclear plants could produce the fuel cheaply and cleanly.

Related:

• GM vice president says automakers need to produce hybrids, sense be damned

[Source: Automotive News]

Winding Road, which got the scoop on the hydrogen-powered GM Chevy Sequel earlier this week, has a great follow-up post on the media battle between GM and BMW, which also announced big hydrogen car news this week. Winding Road took snapshots of various Yahoo news sites throughout the week and compared them to the headlines provided in the press releases from GM and BMW. While GM got out of the gate first with news of the Sequel, the company didn't hype the hydrogen angle enough (they instead called it "petroleum-free"). When BMW announced the Hydrogen 7 Series the next day, guess what the big news was? I recommend going over to Winding Road and reading the whole thing. They've done a great job of capturing the tangled PR web automakers and news outlets weave week after week.

Related:

• GM Sequel fuel-cell vehicle will be a Chevy
• BMW officially announces the BMW Hydrogen 7

[Source: Winding Road]

General Motors announced today that their all-wheel drive fuel-cell vehicle the Sequel will wear the Chevrolet brand. The news was first reported by Winding Road, and that site will report back from the first test drive of the prototypes tomorrow. The decision to make the Sequel a Chevy (instead of, say a Cadillac or Saab) should help make fuel cells seem more accessible to the majority of car buyers. GM has invited a small number of journalists to test drive the Sequel, and an AutoblogGreen blogger is one of them. Look for his report soon. Until then, click through the jump for more images of the Sequel and GM's press release.

Related:

• GM to show of working fuel cell prototype to reporters

[Source: GM via Winding Road]