GM to expand fuel-cell business beyond EVs

General Motors’ plans for hydrogen fuel cells (FCEVs) have gone a step further with US$35 billion put into electric and autonomous vehicles through to 2025.

It sees opportunities for FCEVs in commercial vehicles, the military, and other forms of transportation such as rail and maritime, CNBC reports

GM is working on its Hydrotec fuel-cell system to include operations outside of automotive and as a complementary solution to its battery electric vehicle (BEV) business Ultium. 

“Batteries have a role to fill, but to fully electrify and deal with the breadth of the different applications that we’re talking about you also have to have hydrogen fuel cells,” GM global fuel cell business executive director Charlie Freese says.

FCEVs are considered better for heavy vehicles travelling long distances but face fuelling infrastructure and cost issues.

GM recently announced a deal with Liebherr-Aerospace to develop an FCEV power generation demonstrator system for aircraft, just after it signed a memorandum of understanding with Wabtec Corporation to engineer and supply battery and hydrogen fuel-cell systems for freight locomotives.

Freese says GM expects to commercialise fuel cells for real world solutions “soon”.