U.S. Army shows off world’s first fleet of hydrogen-powered military vehicles

The United States Army has revealed the world’s first military fleet powered entirely by hydrogen fuel cells.

The fleet is comprised of 16 vehicles that will begin field testing in Hawaii this year. The vehicles are part of the U.S. military’s continued experimentation with alternative energy. The Department of Defense has highlighted hydrogen as one of its top priorities for the future and this latest development shows that the agency is making good on its promises to break the country’s dependence of oil.

Once the vehicles have gone through the rigorous testing the military is famous – or infamous – for, they will be sent to foreign countries where they will be used by deployed soldiers. The technologies created and the data accumulated from the project will not be kept a secret by the Army, as the Department of Defense has plans to release this information to companies interested in adopting hydrogen energy and those manufacturing hydrogen fuel cells.

The hope is to accelerate progress toward a sustainable country powered by alternative energy.

Each branch of the military will continue experimenting with alternative energies and incorporating these energies into their fundamental structure. The Department of Defense believes that showing that these technologies are viable it will be able to sway businesses away from the allure of oil companies and attract them to fuel sources that are readily available in the U.S.