GM President and CEO-elect, G. Richard Wagoner, Jr. told reporters gathered here for the opening of the annual Geneva Motor Show that the breakthrough brings clean, affordable transportation another step closer to reality.

Wagoner introduced the Opel Zafira fuel cell vehicle at the show. The Zafira is a demonstration fuel cell vehicle based on GM’s popular European passenger van that GM will use to test global fuel cell technology on the road this year. The Zafira’s fuel cell stack – the significant element of the fuel cell system that replaces a vehicle’s conventional engine – achieves full power nearly 12 times faster in freezing conditions than the same design achieved recently.

Six months ago, GM demonstrated a fuel cell stack that at –20 degrees Centigrade (-4 degrees Fahrenheit) took over six minutes to achieve full power, or power needed to move a vehicle to full acceleration. The current generation fuel cell stack now achieves significant power levels quickly at even lower temperatures. At –20 degrees Centigrade full power is achieved in just 30 seconds and at -30 degrees Centigrade (-22 Fahrenheit) power is achieved in just 60 seconds. Improved cold start performance is just one of the fuel cell stack advancements in the Zafira.

The fuel cell stack is GM’s seventh generation, with several more generations in development. This seventh generation stack is 15 percent better in volumetric power density than the nearest competitor’s fuel cell. In a head-to-head comparison, a GM fuel cell stack will develop more power in the same size than any automotive fuel cell known today.

GM engineers are also focused on making the fuel cell affordable without sacrificing performance. Fuel cell stacks under develop target issues that drive cost, including component materials, design for manufacture and precious metal content.

Wagoner said that the new fuel cell stack begins to approach the concerns most customers will have with this future technology. "Our global team has an intense focus on the issues that matter most to the customer: cost and performance.

Wagoner also announced that the Zafira will pace the marathon at the Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia.

This is the second significant fuel cell announcement by GM in the past two months. GM last month at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit (Michigan, U.S.A.) introduced a hydrogen-fueled concept fuel cell vehicle designed to achieve 108 miles per gallon gasoline equivalent (2.2 liters per 100 kilometers).

Dr. J. Byron McCormick and Dr. Erhard Schubert, co-executive directors of GM’s Global Alternative Propulsion Center, head the fuel cell activities. GM conducts fuel cell research and program activities from three global centers, including Mainz-Kastel, Germany; Honeoye Falls, New York (U.S.A.); and Warren, Michigan (U.S.A.).

GM Fuel Cell Achievements Announced Today:

1. Performance: Ability to reach full power generation at –20 degree Centigrade 12 times faster than a comparable stack just six months ago. Result: Continued research will allow fuel cell vehicles to operate in regions of the world where temperature reach far below zero.

2. Power: Compared to the competition, GM fuel cell stacks are 15 percent more efficient in terms of power generated per liter (size).

3. Fun: The Zafira fuel cell vehicle will pace the marathon event at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia.

 - Autoworld.com

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