GM, Shell Join Forces on Fuel Cells

This move must be prompted by the need to catch up with the future-thinking Europeans who are way ahead of the US on fuel cell research and implementation.
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GM, Shell Join Forces on Fuel Cells
By Dee-Ann Durbin Associated Press Writer
Published: Mar 5, 2003

WASHINGTON (AP) - Showcasing hydrogen power, General Motors Corp. and Shell Hydrogen are bringing a fleet of fuel-cell minivans to Washington for lawmakers and policy-makers to use.
GM and Shell, which announced their plans Wednesday, are forming a partnership to speed the development of hydrogen technology.

GM and Shell plan to provide the six GM HydroGen3 fuel-cell minivans by May and, by October, two hydrogen fuel pumps to refuel the minivans. Each of the minivans is a GM Opel Zafira converted to run on hydrogen. Fuel-cell vehicles create electric power from hydrogen and emit only water vapor from their tailpipes.

Donald Huberts, chief executive of Shell Hydrogen, and Larry Burns, GM's vice president of research and development, said in a statement that the partnership will help them coordinate efforts to bring fuel-cell vehicles to market.

Right now, hydrogen vehicles cost about 10 times more than those with internal combustion engines. But the Bush administration, which has pledged more than $1 billion for fuel-cell development over five years, has said it hopes to see the vehicles widely available by 2015.

Environmentalists reacted skeptically to Wednesday's announcement. Philip Clapp, president of the Washington-based National Environmental Trust, said the companies are promoting hydrogen vehicles so lawmakers will be less inclined to raise the fuel mileage standards on current vehicles.

"They played this for years with electric cars ... which are still not on the road," Clapp said.

GM and Shell said the new program is intended to raise awareness about fuel-cell cars.

Every major automaker is working on some type of fuel-cell technology. GM has set a target of selling fuel-cell vehicles to the public by 2010.

For Shell, hydrogen means company longevity. Royal Dutch/Shell Group formed Shell Hydrogen in 1999 to develop fuel cell business. Shell Hydrogen recently announced plans for the first hydrogen fueling station in Tokyo as well as a hydrogen fuel initiative in Iceland.

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On the Net:
General Motors Corp.: http://www.gm.com/
Shell: http://www.shell.com/