April 25, 2002
"HydroGen1" on tour
Opel Concept Car Joins California Fuel Cell Partnership
Rüsselsheim.. Opel and GM's jointly developed fuel cell concept vehicle, "HydroGen1", has been shipped to California to take part in a government-industry partnership based there. It is the first of several advanced technology vehicles that GM will demonstrate in California this year.
The record-setting HydroGen1 fuel cell vehicle – based on Opel's Zafira compact van – is going to be used as part of a demonstration fleet, under the direction of the California Fuel Cell Partnership, which was formed by Gov. Grey Davis, automakers and energy companies in 1999.
HydroGen1 has been used in rigorous field testing around the world and has accumulated more than 32,000 kilometers, operating in the hottest temperatures on record for a fuel cell vehicle during an endurance run in the Arizona desert last summer.
HydroGen1 Milestones
- HydroGen1 set 15 international speed and endurance records in the heat of the Arizona desert last year, including becoming the first fuel cell vehicle to cover more than 1,000 kilometers in one day and be driven at temperatures of over 40 degrees Centigrade.
- It led the men's and women's marathons at the 2000 Summer Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia.
- HydroGen1 was the only fuel cell passenger vehicle to complete the tough 350-kilometer Los Angeles to Las Vegas trip during the 2001 Michelin Challenge Bibendum. The Bibendum is a competition and showcase for environmentally friendly vehicles.
- At the 2001 Michelin Bibendum Challenge, HydroGen1 also was awarded a design trophy for the outstanding integration of its high-tech fuel cell system into the vehicle.
- So far, more than 600 journalists, scientists and politicians have driven the HydroGen1.
Opel and GM have invested hundreds of millions of U.S. dollars in fuel cell research, development, and commercialization. The company has been making steady progress toward improved mobile and stationary fuel cell applications. GM boasts the world's first gasoline processor for extracting hydrogen and its fuel cell stacks are among the world's most efficient.
Earlier this year, GM presented its AUTOnomy concept at the Detroit and Geneva Motor Shows. AUTOnomy is the first vehicle designed from the ground up around a fuel cell propulsion system and the first to combine fuel cells with drive-by-wire, which allows steering, braking and other vehicle systems to be controlled electronically rather than mechanically.
The development of HydroGen1 – and its most recent successor HydroGen3 – is the responsibility of Opel and GM's joint Global Alternative Propulsion Center (GAPC) with sites in Mainz-Kastel in Germany and Warren, Michigan and Rochester, New York, in the USA. To further its fuel cell development, GM has established partnerships with leading companies in the field, including General Hydrogen, Quantum Technologies Worldwide, Inc., Hydrogenics Corp., Giner Electrochemical Systems, L.L.C., Suzuki Motor Corp., Toyota Motor Corp., BPAmoco, ExxonMobil, and ChevronTexaco.
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