click on the image for a high-res gallery of the fuel cell E-Flex platform

In Shanghai this month, as you probably know, GM unveiled the fuel cell version of the E-Flex platform. It's also not recent news that GM wants to have 100-plus hydrogen fuel cell Equinox vehicles out for real world testing soon. And, of course, GM said in February they want to have a production version of the hydrogen-powered Sequel for sale by 2010 (in limited quantaties).

Where does all this lead us? Some would say it's likely to lead us down the road to the questionable benefits of a hydrogen economy. But from a GM-centric perspective, it's likely to lead us to a mass-produced GM hydrogen car in 2012. At least, that's what Motor Trend heard when they spoke with GM's Larry Burns (AutoblogGreen spoke with Burns in March, and you can hear the interview in our second podcast).

Burns told Motor Trend's Todd Lassa about the hydrogen future for GM, and pointed out this bit of information on how GM is looking at the hydrogen future for the rest of us:

"We did that same calculation [how many hydrogen stations would they need] for the 100 largest cities in the U.S. ... and we connected all the cities with stations on the freeway with stations every 25 miles, and that added up to 12,000 stations. Out of 170,000 total in the United States. Even if every station cost $1 million for hydrogen, that's $12 billion. The Alaskan Pipeline today would cost $25 billion. So for half the cost of the Alaskan Pipeline, you could have stations for 70 percent of the population." (See the DOE's hydrogen predictions here)

With fuel station problems partially solved for $12 billion, Burns said GM sees production engineering for high-tech, low- or no-emissions vehicles being the same as for any conventional car or truck in three to four years.

You can read the whole thing here.



[Source: Todd Lassa / Motor Trend]

We brought you news of the Giugiaro VAD.HO concept which was shown in Geneva at the Motor Show, and now we have some live pictures of the machine from the show floor.

What makes this concept vehicle worthy of carrying the green image? None other than the BMW Hydrogen 7's V12 engine, mounted on the side of the vehicle normally occupied by the passenger. So... where is the passenger? Right behind the driver, fighter jet style. Pretty cool stuff, which is good since this is a concept vehicle, and that is what they are supposed to be. While I'm not holding my breath to see if this vehicle makes it into production, I can at least view the pictures of the only one in existence at the moment. You can too.

Related:

• Geneva preview: Giugiaro Vadho uses BMW hydrogen V12 engine

[Source: Autoblog]

With the Hydrogen 7 hitting the streets (and the Oscars), BMW is busy making the case for liquid hydrogen combustion engines. The European Union is listening.

Last week, the EU endorsed the hydrogen combustion engine as a technology of the future after the HyICE project was praised by EU Commissioner for Science and Research Janez Potočnik. HyICE is an initiative to optimize hydrogen ICEs, and is coordinated by BMW Group Research and Technology with business and university partners across Europe (and some help from the U.S. DOE). Ford is involved in the project as well.

Potočnik said that, "The HyICE project clearly demonstrates the key role of EU research in reducing dependency towards fossil fuels. ... The results achieved with a hydrogen combustion engine should encourage industry to develop this form of mobility further. This is a key contribution to preserve the environment and to keep Europe at the forefront of global competition"

The latest result of HyICE, started in 2003, is an engine with a distinct performance of 100 kW per liter cubic capacity (displacement). Researchers tried direct injection and external cold mixture hydrogen formations, both of which improved performance and reduced consumption. See more details in BMW's press release after the break.

[Source: BMW]

Mazda has already made some hydrogen powered RX8 concepts powered by hydrogen. They say that their Wankel rotary engines are perfect for hydrogen as the heat generated does not hinder their performance. According to this article, the high temperatures do not cause a pre-ignition problem, sometimes referred to as "pinging" in piston engines.

Now Mazda engineers have placed a rotary engine in their Mazda 5 model, a small wagon that is sold here in the States. The rotary engine can run on hydrogen or standard gas. Additionally, they have added an electric motor to the vehicle, making this a gas/hydrogen/electric hybrid... or should I say "tribrid" - perhaps not.

This vehicle is their second attempt at hybrid vehicles, with their Tribute SUV using the same hybrid gas/electric system developed by Ford. This is also their second hydrogen/gas foray, as they have converted some of their RX8 rotary vehicles to hydrogen power. This is their first vehicle combining both.

[Source: Auto Industry U.K.]