GM to show off fuel cellpowered car

AP) -- General Motors Corp. has achieved a milestone in its quest to bring a hydrogen fuel cell-powered vehicle to market, announcing that it now has a drivable version of its Sequel concept car.
The Sequel, which looks like a shrunken minivan and has a range of 300 miles, will be shown to reporters next month in California, GM Chairman and Chief Executive Rick Wagoner said Thursday during a speech at the Center for Automotive Research Management Briefing Seminars in Traverse City.


But production and sale of the Sequel is a long way off. Wagoner wouldn't give a time estimate for when the public could buy one. "That's rocket science when you get in that car," he said. "This is the most sophisticated product, technologically advanced product, I think we've ever made in the history of GM." Nearly all automakers are testing hydrogen-powered vehicles, with some in use by government workers. The testing has received support from a 5-year, $1.2 billion hydrogen initiative first announced by President Bush in his 2003 State of the Union address. The pollution-free technology holds the potential of zero emissions and a sustainable source of energy produced when hydrogen and oxygen are mixed. Experts say they could begin arriving in showrooms by 2020, or perhaps earlier. But many obstacles exist including the high cost, relatively short range and a lack of fueling stations. © 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


http://www.physorg.com/news74448514.html Always nice to hear about tech advances but please can the press stop insisting that Hydrogen and Fuel Cells are "pollution-free". Where do you think the hydrogen comes from?! It is either cracked from natural gas or petrol, or it is made from water using electrolysis. From source to tail-pipe, H2 energy has MORE of an environmental impact because of the losses transforming from one form to another! I just hope the public realise this before getting absorbed in the idea that H2 is greener. Regards G
On 11-Aug-2006 by E. L. Earnhardt
Hydrogen fuel CAN be obtained pollution free! Electrolysis powered by wind, wave,or dam IS relatively pollution free, and there are other ways to obtain the fuel that are too close for argument. Storing it and transporting it is difficult, so it might well be dispersed at the generation site.Cost, overall, by mile, (including purchase price of the vehicle), may not compete well with a "plug-in electric" depending on usage, but recharging stations are a bit cheaper. Retail sales will make the final decision.E. L. Earnhardt
On 12-Aug-2006 by Zephir
QUOTE (roaminggeorge @ Aug 11 2006, 11:37 PM)
I just hope the public realise this before getting absorbed in the idea that H2 is greener.
Just at the condition, the hydrogen is only a mediator, not the primary source of energy.