General Motors to provide Autocar heavy vehicles with hydrogen fuel cells

GM and Autocar Industries have agreed to collaborate on the development of the vehicles.

General Motors and Autocar Industries have jointly announced that they will be working together on the development of H2 powered heavy vehicles equipped with GM’s Hydrotec hydrogen fuel cells.

The companies will be collaborating on the heavy vehicles powered by the Hydrotec units.

The hydrogen fuel cells will be installed in heavy vehicles such as dump trucks, garbage trucks, cement mixers, terminal tractors and road maintenance vehicles that would conventionally be powered by diesel engines. The first of those vehicles are expected to go into production in Autocar’s Birmingham, Alabama plant in 2026.

“We want to enable zero tailpipe emissions solutions for the largest, highest energy consuming
vehicles, and fuel cells are ideal for the most energy intensive applications,” said Charlie Freese, executive director of GM’s Hydrotec in a media statement.

Hydrotec’s “power cubes” comprising over 300 hydrogen fuel cells will be installed in the vehicles.

Hydrotec’s job in the collaboration will be to provide the power cubes as well as “thermal and power management systems and proprietary controls.” Each power cube consists of more than 300 H2 fuel cells and provides 77 kilowatts of power.

As a growing number of operators seek to decarbonize, a growing focus is being directed toward H2 for its use in powering trucks and vans. This is particularly true in areas where battery electric vehicles aren’t feasible due to the need for power, range, and rapid refueling.

While the majority of the passenger vehicle industry has gone in the direction of battery electric cars in the zero-emission category, the same cannot be said about heavier duty vehicles with far greater demands than what current battery technology can realistically provide.

As regulations change

“As regulations change, we see Hydrotec fuel cells as an additional avenue for our customers to meet their EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) requirements with zero tailpipe emissions vehicles,” said a statement from Eric Schwartz, president of Autocar Industries.

Vehicles equipped with hydrogen fuel cells have considerably longer ranges and can refuel in minutes – timing similar to diesel refueling with which most operators are already familiar.

Ready to test your knowledge on the most abundant element in the universe? Take our fun and engaging Hydrogen Quiz now!

Test Your Hydrogen Knowledge

Dive into our "Test Your Hydrogen Knowledge" quiz, designed to challenge your understanding of this fascinating element and its uses in science and energy technology.

Start Quiz

Page 1 of 7

Who discovered the hydrogen element in 1766?

Henry Cavendish Robert Boyle Christian Friedrich Schonbein

Page 2 of 7

What country uses the most hydrogen energy?

united states hydrogen use United States China hydrogen use China Germany hydrogen use Germany

Page 3 of 7

What's the Guinnes World Record for a hydrogen fuel car's mileage range on a single tank of hydrogen?

629 miles 489 miles 845 miles

Page 4 of 7

How many miles of hydrogen pipelines are currently operating in the United States?

300 miles 1600 miles 2800 miles Zero Hydrogen Pipelines

Page 5 of 7

Is a fuel cell car considered to be an electric vehicle?

Yes No

Page 6 of 7

What are the many ways to store hydrogen?

Liquified Salt Caverns Compressed Material based like ammonia All of the above

Page 7 of 7

Which of the following statements best describes why hydrogen is considered non-toxic and dissipates quickly?

Hydrogen is heavier than air, causing it to spread slowly and remain concentrated. Hydrogen is lighter than air, allowing it to rise and disperse rapidly in the atmosphere. Hydrogen is chemically inert, preventing it from reacting with other substances in the air. Hydrogen is soluble in water, making it easy to dissolve and remove from the environment.