Trends in Transportation - Hydrogen and Fuel Cells: Advances in Transportation and Power - page 159

DaimlerChrysler's ESK2 was introduced at the Detroit Auto Show in
1998. It was a lightweight, aerodynamic 70-miles-per-gallon hybrid car and
provided a platform for alternative fueled vehicles including fuel cells.
Ford has been at work on a car powered by direct hydrogen. It was
equipped with a 5,000-psi compressed hydrogen tank, but this would
only provide a range of 50 miles, although the acceleration was excellent.
Ford will be reducing even more weight off the car along with other
improvements. The P2000 was one of the world's few operational fuel cell
cars when it was completed.
GM'S ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY
GM conducted its first fuel cell testing in 1964 and in 1968 GM
produced the auto industry's first operational fuel cell powered vehicle.
The first drivable fuel cell concept car was based on the GM Opel Zafira
minivan in 1998. The HydroGen1 fuel cell vehicle based on the Opel Zafira
compact van served as the pace car for the men's and women's marathons
at the Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia.
GM created Giner Electrochemical Systems (GES) with Giner, Inc.,
to perform fuel cell research and development. Giner is the leader in the
PEM-based technology used in most automotive applications. GM's FCEV
is a fuel cell electric vehicle and PNGV demonstrator that was designed to
achieve 108 m.p.g. gasoline equivalent.
In 2000 GM announced a breakthrough catalyst system with the
current generation gasoline fuel processor that achieved more than 80
percent efficiency.
By 2001 GM had set 15 international endurance records for fuel cell
powered vehicles by HydroGen1 at GM's Mesa, Arizona Proving Grounds.
HydroGen1 completed 862 miles in a 24-hour endurance run.
In 2004 a retail hydrogen fueling station opened in Washington D.C. in
a partnership between Shell and GM to develop hydrogen-fueled vehicles
on a commercial scale. The station will service GM fuel cell vehicles. Both
compressed and liquid hydrogen refueling are available.
Also, in 2004 GM and Shanghai Automotive started the development
of a demonstration vehicle using fuel cell technology, building on GM's
HydroGen3 fuel cell vehicle. It was designed to show the benefits of
fuel cell vehicles in real life applications. GM won top honors in several
categories with it's HydroGen3 fuel cell vehicle at the 2004 Michelin