Before Automakers Took Hydrogen Cars Seriously, Gm Built The Electrovan

If you're an American, you astir apt don't deliberation astir hydrogen-fuel-cell cars much, aliases astatine all. If you do, you mightiness beryllium nether nan belief that those cars are mostly driven by tree-hugging, kale-eating Californians. There mightiness beryllium immoderate truth to that, though we can't cognize for judge since automakers don't support information connected really galore of their customers hug trees aliases eat kale. But you mightiness beryllium amazed to find retired that General Motors has been tinkering pinch hydrogen vehicles since nan 1960s.

Thanks to its engagement pinch nan U.S. abstraction program, GM had astatine its disposal knowledge astir hydrogen substance cells and silver-zinc batteries, powerfulness sources it had helped NASA create for its spacecraft and rovers. The institution began toying pinch nan thought of putting hydrogen substance cells successful a car, and successful 1966, unveiled nan Electrovan. This beast couldn't spell very fast, and was measurement excessively heavy, but it worked. This converted GMC Handi-van would beryllium nan first conveyance ever powered by hydrogen substance cells.

While nan Electrovan ne'er made it to market, it cemented its spot successful automotive history and would commencement GM connected a agelong way of processing hydrogen fuel-cells for different applications. Modern hydrogen cars, pinch their pros and cons, beryllium a motion of nickname to GM's accomplishment successful 1966. Today, GM is still actively building hydrogen substance cells for vehicles, trains, and moreover aircraft.

The 1960s were an breathtaking clip successful American history for a batch of reasons. One of those reasons was nan abstraction race. The U.S. had committed to landing connected nan moon, and succeeded successful putting a man location by nan extremity of nan decade. Over 5 decades later, that is simply a feat SpaceX is still struggling to accomplish. You'll get location someday, Elon. Maybe.

One of nan challenges faced by nan Apollo and Gemini missions was creating nan onboard powerfulness for their spacecraft, arsenic good arsenic providing h2o for nan crew. Batteries astatine nan clip weren't up for nan task. But GM had been intimately collaborating pinch NASA connected its abstraction program, and its ain scientists helped nan abstraction agency to create substance cells for its spacecrafts. Batteries astatine nan clip couldn't powerfulness electronics aliases nan h2o system. Hydrogen substance cells were well-suited for nan task, and that is 1 of nan things GM helped NASA to develop.

At 1 constituent during nan '60s, GM executives came up pinch nan conception of putting nan fancy hydrogen exertion it was helping nan authorities create into 1 of its ain vehicles. So successful 1966, 3 years earlier nan first satellite landing, GM unveiled nan Electrovan, a conveyance that ran connected hydrogen alternatively of gasoline. The conception was revolutionary for its time.

The Electrovan, while revolutionary, astir apt wouldn't person turned heads were it ever driven down nan road. Instead, it reminds america of thing Matt Foley mightiness unrecorded successful down by nan river. But sloppy of its looks, it was functional. This bad boy could scope speeds of 70 mph and blaze from 0-60 successful a specified 30 seconds! It besides had an astounding scope of 150 miles. Okay, while it didn't precisely group immoderate velocity aliases scope records, it does clasp an important spot successful history arsenic nan first automobile powered by hydrogen substance cells, and that's not nothing.

Even though this historical conveyance was really a converted GMC Handi-van, it only had 2 seats. Why? Because nan seats down nan beforehand had to beryllium taken retired to make room for nan immense hydrogen and oxygen tanks. The Electrovan weighed 7,100 pounds total. About 55% of that weight consisted of nan centrifugal and electrical thrust systems. According to GM, nan magnitude of platinum utilized successful nan accumulation of this beast could person bought a full fleet of vans.

You mightiness beryllium reasoning that driving astir pinch tremendous hydrogen and oxygen tanks successful nan backmost spot couldn't person been safe. You'd beryllium right. The experts astatine GM had nan aforesaid concerns, which is why they built nan trial way for nan Electrovan acold distant from buildings and people. It was beautiful clear why this precaution was taken erstwhile 1 of nan hydrogen tanks exploded during a trial drive. No 1 was injured, amazingly, but nan detonation threw debris a 4th of a mile away. Explosions haven't been a threat pinch modern fuel-cell cars, unless you judge President Donald Trump's claims astir hydrogen cars.

Hydrogen substance cells weren't nan only benignant of non-gas conveyance General Motors was moving connected astatine nan time. It was besides processing purely electrical vehicles. In 1964, 2 years earlier nan Electrovan was released, GM slapped immoderate silver-zinc batteries, much exertion derived from nan company's engagement pinch nan abstraction program, into a Chevy Corvair and called it nan Electrovair.

The Electrovair was considerably easier connected nan eyes than nan Electrovan, since nan Corvair was a beautiful car. I's capacity wasn't astir arsenic awesome arsenic its looks, though, acknowledgment to its humble 90 hp electrical centrifugal and 450-volt batteries. In 1966, GM came retired pinch a 2nd version, nan Electrovair II, fitted pinch a much powerful 115 hp centrifugal and 532-volt silver-zinc batteries.

Those upgrades still didn't make nan small EV fresh for primetime. Its velocity topped retired astatine 80 mph and it had a scope of only 40 to 80 miles. It was heavy, too, weighing 3,400 pounds, acknowledgment to nan powertrain, electronics, and cooling instrumentality weighing successful astatine complete 1,100 pounds. All of this made nan Electrovair 800 pounds heavier than nan Corvair. Even worse, nan batteries could only beryllium discharged 100 times and would request to beryllium replaced each 8,000 miles. But for illustration nan Electrovan, nan Electrovairs were really only proof-of-concept vehicles. They weren't meant for accumulation but did beryllium that it was perchance viable to powerfulness cars pinch hydrogen substance cells aliases zinc-silver batteries.

You'd beryllium forgiven if you thought GM dropped retired of nan hydrogen substance compartment crippled altogether. The Electrovan ne'er made it to production, and you can't spell to a GM aliases Chevy batch and bid a hydrogen-fuel-cell car. Right now, nan only brands pinch user hydrogen cars connected nan U.S. marketplace are Toyota, Hyundai, and Honda, which made America's first plug-in hydrogen vehicle. 

That doesn't mean that GM hadn't continued processing its hydrogen substance compartment technology, though. On nan contrary, astatine 1 point, it announced a business pinch Wabtec to create substance cells for locomotive engines. The institution besides announced a collaboration pinch Autocar to nutrient hydrogen-driven heavy-duty vehicles. GM besides was moving connected producing medium-duty hydrogen-fueled activity trucks for Southern Company, a awesome inferior successful nan U.S. The automaker was even working connected substance cells for usage successful aircraft. 

But GM precocious announced that it will extremity activity connected next-generation substance cells. That seems successful portion to do with hydrogen fueling stations being difficult to find successful this country. As of this writing, each but 2 of nan 53 publically disposable hydrogen fueling stations successful nan United States are successful California, according to Driving Hydrogen. (According to GM, nan U.S. Department of Energy says location are 61 refueling stations total, but GM doesn't opportunity really galore are publically available.) Of nan 2 that aren't successful California, 1 is successful Hawaii and nan different successful Texas. And nan 1 successful Texas isn't moreover a unit facility. 

That's not to opportunity GM is retired of nan hydrogen crippled altogether. It's still progressive successful a associated task pinch Honda to build substance cells for powering information centers. After all, GM has a agelong history pinch hydrogen fuel, and it each started pinch a homely van successful 1966.