Input Stories

General Motors and Honda have teamed up to make a next-generation power source, SFGate reports.

What’s going on: “In a day more than a decade in the making, the automakers announced the start of fuel cell system production [late] last [month] at their joint facility, FCSM, in Brownstown, Michigan. It’s the industry’s first joint venture fuel cell plant.”

• The vehicle makers’ jointly developed fuel cell system uses compressed hydrogen, whose only emission is water vapor.
• The manufacturers also collaborated to double the durability of Honda’s 2019 hydrogen-powered vehicle, the Clarity Fuel Cell, “by using corrosion-resistant materials” and bolstering performance at low temperatures.

How they did it: The companies, which note that the new fuel cell system will be one-third less expensive than the one used in the 2019 Clarity Fuel Cell, “say they also focused on lowering development and manufacturing costs by leveraging economies of scale, advancing the cell design, simplifying supporting auxiliary equipment, utilizing common sourcing and reducing the use of costly precious metals.”

Why it’s important: “Fuel cell technology such as the system pioneered by General Motors and Honda plays a crucial role in the all-of-the-above energy mix we need,” said NAM Vice President of Domestic Policy Brandon Farris.

• “It will be an important step in meeting our power-source needs and represents a key technology that enables decarbonization.”