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U.S. Army shows interest for vehicles powered by hydrogen fuell cells as the GM ZH2 demonstrator 13101171

Military Defense Industry Technology - Hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle

U.S. Army shows interest for vehicles powered by hydrogen fuell cells as the GM ZH2 demonstrator.

The U.S. army shows interest for vehicles powered by hydrogen fuel cells, the General Motors (GM) Equinox vehiclesare being used on several installations. GM has developed a new demonstrator called ZH2 which is based on a modified Chevy Colorado, fitted with a hydrogen fuel cell and electric drive.

General Motors ZH2 hydrogen fuel cells demonstrator at AUSA 2016, Defense Exhibition in Washington D.C., United States.

The ZH2 hydrogen fuel-cell electric vehicle promises to provide that important element of stealth, said Kevin Centeck. team lead, Non-Primary Power Systems, U.S. Army Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center at the 2017 Washington Auto Show.

Charley Freese, executive director of General Motor's Global Fuel Cell Activities, explained the ZH2 is stealthy because its drive system does not produce smoke, noise, odor or thermal signature. GM developed the vehicle and the associated technologies.

The ZH2 produces high torque and comes equipped with 37-inch tires that enable it to negotiate rough and steep terrain. When the vehicle isn't moving, it can generate 25 kilowatts of continuous power or 50 kW of peak power. There are 120- and 240-volt outlets located in the trunk.

Dr. Paul D. Rogers, director of TARDEC, said the Army got a good deal in testing this vehicle, leveraging some $2.2 billion in GM research money spent in fuel-cell research over the last several decades. The Army is always eager to leverage innovation in new technology, he added.

While GM developed the technology and produced the demonstrator, the Army's role will be to test and evaluate the vehicle in real-world field conditions over the next near.

The U.S. army shows interest for vehicles powered by hydrogen fuel cells, the General Motor's (GM) Equinox vehiclesare being used on several installations. GM has developed a new demonstrator called ZH2 which is based on a modified Chevy Colorado, fitted with a hydrogen fuel cell and electric drive.

The GM ZH2 hydrogen fuel-cell electric vehicle is powered by electricity. But the electricity doesn't come from storage batteries like those found in electric cars today. Instead, the electricity is generated from highly compressed hydrogen that is stored in the vehicle by an electrochemical reaction.

As one of the two elements that make water (the other being oxygen), there's plenty of hydrogen in the world. But hydrogen isn't exactly free, Centeck pointed out. It takes a lot of electricity to separate the strong bond between hydrogen and oxygen.

That electricity could come from the grid or it could come from renewables like wind or solar,

Existing fuels like gasoline, propane, and natural gas can also be used to extract hydrogen, he said. The Army and GM are comparing the costs and benefits for each approach and haven't yet settled on which approach to use.

Christopher Colquitt, GM's project manager for the ZH2, said that the cost of producing hydrogen isn't the only complicating factor; another is the lack of hydrogen fueling stations.

The value of having the Army test the vehicle is that it will be driven off-road aggressively by Soldiers, who will provide their unvarnished feedback, Colquitt said. Besides collecting subjective feedback from the Soldiers, he said, the vehicle contains data loggers that will yield objective data as well.

Testers will put the vehicle through its paces this year at Fort Bragg, North Carolina; Fort Carson, Colorado; Fort Benning, Georgia; Quantico Marine Base, North Carolina; and, GM's own Proving Grounds in Michigan.