GM's hydrogen fuel-cell fleet holds up in crashes

[Omaha Steve]

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/driveon/post/2010/03/gms-hydrogen-fuel-cell-fleet-getting-real-crash-experience/1


A GM fuel cell vehicle shows the damage of a rear end collision. The fuel cells where explosive hydrogen is stored were not compromised.


One of the more impressive aspects of General Motors' Project Driveway, which put 120 Chevrolet Equinox fuel-cell vehicles on the streets, is that it was pretty clear from the start that some might get in accidents. With that many vehicles it was bound to happen. But how would a hydrogen vehicle hold up?

So far, so good. Five GM fuel-cell vehicles have been involved in accidents over the years, and none has resulted in any sort of catastrophic hydrogen explosion, says Charlie Freese, who is charge of GM's fuel-cell program. That has always been the fear about hydrogen cars, since memories still linger of the Hindenburg dirigible accident in 1937. Freese explains that the cars are designed so the tanks will leak in a jet of flame if ruptured and ignited, not go off like a bomb.


This fuel cell vehicle took a good smack in front.


The pictures are from an accident in Washington, D.C. GM PR man Alan Adler says that early on Feb. 22, a Chevrolet Equinox fuel-cell vehicle was involved in a three-car crash. How it happened:

The vehicle was being driven in traffic at low speed when it was struck from behind by a full-size pickup which forced the fuel-cell vehicle forward into another pickup. No hydrogen was released and no one was injured.

The vehicle was extensively damaged on both front and rear ends and later declared a total loss. A vehicle data analysis indicates that the vehicle and controls operated as designed, Adler says. The vehicle was on a short-term loan to a military consultant.

[Turbineguy]

1. That's bad news for

TV. Depriving them of spectacular and grisly photo ops.

[Windy]

2. Charlie Freese is my brother in law....he has been going to washington

off and on for the last several months to get funding. The emmission from these vehicles is nothing but water vapor. The problem is that there is no fueling stations. They are trying to put in a test network in Hawaii. Germany is already on the way to having hydrogen cars on the road within the next few years.

[OKIsItJustMe]

3. Safer than gasoline