Driving the Equinox FCEV (a mouthful of initials that stands for fuel-cell electric vehicle) is just as routinely humdrum as driving a regular crossover SUV with a regular internal combustion engine. That, though, is remarkable in itself.
The 2008 Chevrolet Equinox FCEV might have an exotic hydrogen fuel cell, a battery pack and an electric motor, yet it's up to the challenge of everyday transportation. GM is putting a fleet of more than 100 Equinox FCEVs in the hands of private customers in Los Angeles, New York City and Washington, D.C. in the first large-scale test of fuel-cell vehicles.Not a Science Experiment
Early fuel cells were nothing if not, well, experimental. They featured lots of wiring snaking around and connected to workmanlike gauges and electronic test boxes duct-taped into place. There were eardrum-piercing noises from the air compressors used to cram oxygen into the fuel-cell stacks. The fuel-cell apparatus and hydrogen storage tanks were so big and clunky that the passengers were just an afterthought.
The Future Is Now
After spending a day with the 2008 Chevrolet Equinox FCEV, you walk away with the feeling that these things are finally ready for prime time.
There's also the question of fuel, of course. More than 40 billion kilograms of hydrogen are produced each year, enough to fuel 130 million fuel-cell vehicles annually, GM tells us. But turning it into a liquid is a tremendously energy-intensive process. In the near term, the cost of producing hydrogen will be as much as $3 per gallon. And it will take an investment of $10-15 billion to create a refueling infrastructure that would create refueling stations within two miles of everyone in the top 100 metropolitan areas in the U.S.
© Source: edmunds
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