January 7, 2002

Detroit Motor Show 2002

GM "AUTOnomy" is World's First Car built around the Fuel Cell

Opel team integrates fuel cell propulsion system and the drive-by-wire systems

Rüsselsheim / Detroit. At the Detroit Motor Show this week General Motors unveiled the AUTOnomy, the world's first concept vehicle built around a fuel cell drive system and free from the confines of traditional automotive architecture. Up to now, fuel cell systems have been integrated into production vehicles. AUTOnomy is the first vehicle designed from the ground up around this type of technology and the first to combine fuel cells with drive-by-wire functionality, which allows steering, braking and other vehicle systems to be controlled electronically instead of mechanically. "This revolutionary design could have a dramatic impact on the way in which vehicles are built, distributed and marketed," said Carl-Peter Forster, Adam Opel AG Chairman and Managing Director.

All of the AUTOnomy's essential systems, including the fuel cell stack and on-board hydrogen storage system, are neatly packaged in a new type of chassis. This universal "skateboard" chassis simplifies manufacturing and service and allows for the construction of a wide variety of vehicles with very short development cycles.

The key design feature of AUTOnomy's electrical system is a connection, or "docking port", at the center of the "skateboard" chassis. The docking port creates a quick and foolproof way to connect all the body systems – controls, power and heating – to the rolling chassis, thus making the vehicle body light and uncomplicated. With all of its propulsion and control systems contained within the six-inch-thick chassis, the vehicle body is freed from traditional design requirements. There is no need to design around exhaust, steering and braking systems. Drivers would not have to sit in the traditional left-hand location. They could move to the center of the vehicle, or much closer to the front bumper, or further back. This freedom from conventional configurations should lead to the development of customized bodies that are easy to switch. Customers could even lease multiple bodies and exchange them depending on their needs.
GM was the first automaker to demonstrate a driveable fuel cell vehicle in the late 1960s. In 1998, the Global Alternative Propulsion Center (GAPC) was established with GM and Opel facilities in Rochester, New York; Warren, Michigan and Mainz-Kastel, Germany to intensify research and development on various aspects of fuel cell propulsion. The GAPC team in Warren is responsible for the basic system research while the crew in Rochester focuses on fuel cell and component development. The 130-member team at GAPC's Mainz-Kastel branch deals with system integration. AUTOnomy shows the pace of development at GAPC in this area and demonstrates GM/Opel's ability to provide fuel cell systems for future as well as current vehicle concepts.

The GAPC facility in Mainz-Kastel is also developing the technological standards needed for series production in the future. "Our role in the AUTOnomy project was to integrate the fuel cell propulsion system and the drive-by-wire systems, both theoretically and practically," said GAPC's co-director, Dr. Erhard Schubert. "Some of the most exciting aspects of the project still lie ahead, we're helping to redefine automobile production in the 21st century."

In 2001, the development teams at GAPC made several major advances towards volume production of fuel cell vehicles. HydroGen1, a fuel cell prototype based on the Opel Zafira, set a total of 15 international records for fuel cell cars. At the "Michelin Challenge Bibendum", an international competition for environmentally friendly vehicles, the Opel concept was the only fuel cell passenger car to master the 350 kilometers from Los Angeles to Las Vegas. At the Frankfurt Motor Show (IAA) last September Opel presented HyrdroGen3 - also based on the Zafira – with an optimized propulsion system allowing for an especially compact arrangement of the individual components in the vehicle.

 

SPECIFICATIONS

GM AUTOnomy concept vehicle

Height (in / mm):	49.1 / 1247.1
Length (in / mm):	175.8 / 4465.3
Width (in / mm):	74.0 / 1879.6
Wheelbase (in / mm):	122.0 / 3098.8
Front Track (in / mm):	65.0 / 1651.0
Rear Track (in / mm)	68.0 / 1727.2
Powertrain:	Fuel cell
Drive-by-Wire (X-drive)
Supplier:	SKF, Göteborg, Sweden