The Green LiterGoing the extra mile with electric vehicles, hybrid cars, fuel efficient cars, biofuels and alternative energy sources

In the next five years, General Motors aims to make the most out of unveiling thousands of fuel cell vehicles in various countries.

Based upon how the HydroGen4 model works today, the next generation of fuel cell is being worked on in the hope of producing in a significantly cheaper way. General Motors also wants to slash the amount of platinum by 30 grams.

Still ongoing is the Project Driveway that lets drivers to “borrow” from 100 fuel cell vehicles in order to provide engineers with real life data.

Everyone is looking forward to the hydrogen car boost which path will be paved by General Motors. A longer lifetime for the fuel cell vehicle, lower cost of production, and lower cost of the fuel cell are just some of the factors that will make things work easily for GM.

[via Hydrogen Fuel Cars & Vehicles | image credit: Green Car Site]

When it comes to alternative fuels, hybrid and electric are among the most popular to consumers. Other technologies, like fuel cell, are also available, although these are mostly meant for fleet vehicles. Because of this, most fuel cell refilling stations are owned by private companies for their own use.

That’s about to change, as some companies are opening public-access hydrogen refueling stations, such as SunHydro, which recently opened one in Connecticut. Hydrogen is meant to either run an electric motor (such as in the Honda FCX Clarity) or combust directly in the engine (such as the BMW 7 series hydrogen version).

SunHydro’s station uses solar power to split water molecules into their hydrogen and oxygen components. While it is not expected to be in popular use by consumers anytime soon, bus companies that use fuel cell technology in nearby areas are likely to enjoy the benefits of this new development.

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