General Motors, Honda

General Motors, Honda Combine Forces To Develop Hydrogen, Fuel Cell Technology

By Rod Kackley

Forty years after General Motors, Ford and Chrysler were getting knocked to the canvas  by Japanese auto imports, the biggest of the Detroit Three has signed a deal with Honda to work together on fuel cell system and hydrogen storage technologies.

GM and Honda executives said they can roll out these new technologies around 2020 by sharing knowledge and “economies of scale” under a “long-term definitive master agreement” that was announced July 2, 2013

They also going to be working with as-yet unnamed “stakeholders” to build a “refueling infrastructure.” They realize that we are not going to drive one of these new cars unless we are confident the vehicles can be recharged or refueled with the same ease to which we are accustomed.

Neither Honda nor General Motors are strangers to these technologies. According to the Clean Energy Patent Growth Index, GM and Honda rank No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, in total fuel cell patents filed between 2002 and 2012, with more than 1,200 between them.

"This collaboration builds upon Honda and GM's strengths as leaders in hydrogen fuel cell technology," said Dan Akerson, the chairman and chief executive officer of General Motors. "We are convinced this is the best way to develop this important technology, which has the potential to help reduce the dependence on petroleum and establish sustainable mobility."

GM's Project Driveway program, launched in 2007, has accumulated nearly 3 million miles of real-world driving in a fleet of 119 hydrogen-powered vehicles, more than any other automaker.

Honda began leasing of the Honda FCX in 2002 and has deployed 85 units in the U.S. and Japan, including its successor, the FCX Clarity, which was named the 2009 World Green Car. Honda has delivered these vehicles to the hands of customers in the U.S. and collected valuable data concerning real-world use of fuel cell electric vehicles.

However, General Motors and Honda are hardly the first car companies to look at hydrogen technology. Daimler AG, Hyundai and Toyota announced plans to develop hydrogen cars at the World Hydrogen Conference in 2012.

Takanobu Ito, president & CEO of Honda Motor Co. Ltd. said: "Among all zero CO2 emission technologies, fuel cell electric vehicles have a definitive advantage with range and refueling time that is as good as conventional gasoline cars. I am excited to form this collaboration to fuse our leading fuel cell technologies and create an advanced system that will be both more capable and more affordable."

However, Lux Research, Inc. issued a report earlier this year (2013) pointing out that the dream of a hydrogen economy is still just that, a dream.
"Capital cost, not hydrogen supply, will limit adoption to a mere 5.9 GW" by 2030, providing "a nearly insurmountable barrier to adoption, except in niche applications.”

The twenty-first century has been a historic journey for the Detroit Three. Manufacturing is back. The auto companies are hiring. But first, we had to go through The Great Collapse.
That story is told in this ebook essay, the first in the Restore The Roar: Manufacturing Renaissance series. For a preview, please click here.

Last Chance Mile: The Reinvention of an American Community tells the story of how the people of Grand Rapids, while the rest of Michigan was crashing around them, were able to change the way the world sees their community. For a free preview, please click here.

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